CLEVELAND, Tenn. – A drug detective made a traffic stop on Interstate 75 and found 12 Hispanic men and women who had entered the country illegally, according to a news release.
The Bradley County Sheriff’s Office release stated that 10 men and two women were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcment agents in Chattanooga.
Sheriff’s Office spokesman Bob Gault said the drug squad detective pulled the 2004 Dodge Caravan over for weaving and following too closely.
Upon questioning, officers learned the van was traveling from Dallas to Pennsylvania and had been flagged by U.S. Immigration agents as having possible previous involvement in human trafficking, Mr. Gault said.
The driver, identified as Jesus Ocampo Escobar, age 26, of Guanajuato Mexico, could be charged with human trafficking by ICE, Mr. Gault said.
The Bradley sheriff’s office has turned 206 identified illegal immigrants over to ICE for deportment since September 2006, the release stated.