Border Patrol raids stash house in Yuma

Five illegal entrants arrested, weapons seized

A suspicious vehicle spotted in the desert east of Calexico stopped in Yuma – and turned into five arrests and a seizure of weapons.

The operation started with El Centro Border Patrol agents, who worked in a joint operation last week with Yuma police.

The incident happened at approximately 6:05 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 11 when agents observed several individuals get into a silver Chevrolet Impala in the desert area east of the city of Calexico.

Believing the vehicle to be involved in a human smuggling operation, agents watched as it got onto Interstate 8, and followed it all the way to Yuma.

Once in Yuma, the Impala drove to a trailer park, where the driver and its occupants were seen walking into one of the trailer homes.

When agents knocked on the door of the trailer home, they saw several individuals quickly run into a bathroom. They also noticed several weapons in plain view in a bedroom.

As a result, agents requested assistance from the Yuma Police Department and the El Centro Sector Special Operations Detachment.

Agents and officers established a perimeter around the mobile home and ordered the occupants to come outside.

In all, five people surrendered, including one man who admitted to being the driver of the silver Impala and the caretaker of the mobile home.

The seized weapons, which were found inside the trailer home, included two-semi-automatic AR-15 rifles, four semi-automatic pistols and a revolver.

Also seized were three sets of ballistic body armor, ammunition and a cattle prod.

All of the illegal entrants were arrested and transported to the El Centro Sector Central Processing Center, while the weapons and other items were seized.