TUCSON — U.S. Border Patrol agents foiled a smuggling attempt involving 16 Mexican nationals near border wall construction outside Douglas Thursday, Oct. 29.

Around 8:45 p.m., Tucson Sector agents stopped a Dodge Ram truck for an immigration inspection on a dirt road along the border, east of Douglas. As they approached the vehicle, which contained seven visible people in the cab, the driver jumped out of the truck and fled to Mexico.

Agents further discovered 10 people in the truck’s bed. The migrants were stacked on top of one another and concealed beneath a latched fiberglass bed coverlid.

Records checks revealed all but two of the 16 total individuals had been previously arrested for immigration violations. Three of these had significant immigration violations and face prosecution for illegal entry into the United States.

The remaining 13 people, aged 15 to 56, were expelled to Mexico under Title 42 authority.

Editor's note: The above was republished from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection news release]