Two Suspects Arrested On Suspicion Of Smuggling Immigrants In SD

SAN DIEGO, CA — Two people are facing possible charges of smuggling undocumented immigrants in connection with a Saturday vehicle pursuit that started near the U.S.-Mexico border and ended in downtown San Diego, a U.S. Border Patrol official said Sunday.

The two suspects were arrested on suspicion of three counts each of "alien smuggling," said Hector Quintanilla, a U.S. Border Patrol supervisor.

Quintanilla didn't formally identify the two suspects, and said he believed they were being held in the federal Metropolitan Correction Center in downtown San Diego.

Just before 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Border Patrol officers spotted a vehicle on Otay Mesa and Alta roads in the Otay Mesa community. The driver failed to yield, Quintanilla said. The driver headed north, with law enforcement in pursuit. However, officers lost sight of the vehicle at state Route 94 and Interstate 805, Quintanilla said.

San Diego police officers stopped the vehicle at 2:20 p.m. on Wightman Street in the Mid-City area, he added.

—City News Service