EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A federal grand jury has leveled conspiracy charges against two men allegedly caught tracking the movements of U.S. Border Patrol agents from atop a mountain in Arizona for the purpose of smuggling migrants.
Tuesday’s indictment in U.S. District Court in Phoenix stems from a Feb. 25 incident in the West Silver Bell Mountains south of Eloy.
Border Patrol agents on duty just north of the Tohono O’Odham Nation reservation at approximately 9 a.m. spotted two individuals dressed in camouflage utilizing binoculars on Solo Peak. The mountain is known for being used by smuggling organization “spotters” to monitor law enforcement and direct migrant traffic to pick up areas, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.
The agents called for backup and started climbing the peak. The crew of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations (AMO) helicopter helped them locate the suspects, who ran into hiding.
The agents surrounded Geovani Alexis Teran Olguin, a citizen of Mexico, and Juan Marroquin Jaime, a Guatemalan. They apprehended them for being in the U.S. illegally. They also seized two sets of high-power binoculars, six silver solar panels, a two-way radio and a charger, court records show.
The men were taken to the Casa Grande Border Patrol station, where Teran told investigators he is a migrant from Sinaloa, Mexico, and crossed into the U.S. with four other men who were either apprehended or “left behind” by the group.
Interviewed separately, Marroquin allegedly admitted a smuggling organization in Mexico hired him to work as a scout and promised to pay him 800 pesos ($40) for each migrant that passed through the mountains while he was on duty and managed to reach Phoenix.
Marroquin told investigators that when he reached Solo Peak another smuggling organization “scout” was already there. He identified that second scout as Teran, who in conversation told him he was getting paid 1,000 pesos ($50) for each migrant successfully smuggled, according to the complaint.
Marroquin allegedly told investigators his daily duties consisted of using binoculars to spot border agents and report their activity via the two-way radio.
Investigators went back to Teran with this new information, but the Mexican citizen declined to talk any further and asked for an attorney, court records show.
Both men have been charged with conspiracy to transport illegal aliens and the government has moved to forfeit the property found by the scouting spot on Solo Peak.
Read: Read More