Tucson Region

Camera operator aids border arrest

A Border Patrol remote camera operator was instrumental in the arrest Monday of a drug-trafficking suspct who resisted agents' efforts to detain him. The case, which occurred a day after the U.S. Border Patrol reactivated its roving highway checkpoint operations throughout the Tucson Sector, highlights the agency's increasing reliance on technology and a constantly evolving strategy to counter the growing sophistication of smugglers in Southern Arizona, said Andy Adame, a spokesman for the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector. The incident Monday began when a Border Patrol agent observing traffic north of the Naco Port of Entry saw a 2000 Ford Excursion heading north on Naco Highway and attempted to pull the vehicle over for an immigration check. Instead of stopping, the vehicle sped away toward Naco. The agent broke off the pursuit but later found the abandoned Excursion stuck in a ditch in Naco. Inside were 42 bundles of marijuana weighing nearly 1,200 pounds and valued at more than $945,000. A remote camera operator at the Naco Border Patrol Station who observed the incident was able to lead agents to the man's location. The driver, a 41-year-old Mexican man, resisted capture, forcing agents to use pepper spray to subdue him. Adame said violence is a continuing problem as the level of enforcement along the border increases to include not only a growing number of agents deployed strategically into targeted areas, but more remote surveillance cameras, remote sensors, and night vision equipment, as well as miles of additional fencing.