Nearly 20 illegal immigrants were packed inside a van painted to look like one owned by a company that no longer makes deliveries in the United States, according to the Border Patrol.
Immigration agents pulled over the van at about 6 p.m. on Buckman Springs Road on Saturday in remote East County. When the vehicle stopped, several people inside it attempted to flee, but 19 male residents of Mexico were taken into custody a short time later. The driver of the van managed to elude arrest, a Border Patrol spokesman said.
The yellow van used to smuggle the illegal immigrants bore DHL markings and insignia but is not owned by the delivery service, officials said.
The day before, a 24-year-old man was pulled over in Pine Valley. He allegedly had $8,000 and 24 kilograms of cocaine in his car. The drugs were hidden in a false compartment below the center console, according to the Border Patrol.
