10 illegal immigrants found in truck
Group accused of entering country as part of human smuggling ring

Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE – Nearly a dozen people accused of entering the country as part of a possible human smuggling ring were taken into custody by Gwinnett County police Monday.

An officer from the department’s Interdiction Unit stopped a 2001 Dodge pickup truck on a stretch of Interstate 85 north just south of Buford Drive after spotting the suspicious vehicle with an Arizona license plate and excessively tinted windows.

The driver, identified as 28-year-old Jose Santiago Cruz, handed police a Mexican driver’s license and told authorities he was on his way to New York from Phoenix, Ariz., said Gwinnett police spokeswoman Cpl. Illana Spellman.

Police discovered six people in the bed of the pickup hidden under blankets and a small camper shell. Four others, including Cruz, were packed in the cab of the truck, police said.

According to authorities, all 10 alleged aliens are from Puebla, Mexico – a town 60 miles southeast of Mexico City.

Spellman said the arrest is the first of its nature she’s heard of in Gwinnett and could not recall any other incidents with this number of suspected immigrants.

Cruz reportedly told police he was taking his passengers to the Big Apple to find employment, but authorities said he was unable to provide an exact destination in New York.

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