The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona announced the capture of a Hesperia man accused of transporting undocumented immigrants over the border.
On Wednesday, the sheriff’s office announced on social media the arrest of 31-year-old Christopher Michael Love by its Safe Streets Task Force.
The sheriff’s office reported that at around 7 p.m. on Nov. 22, task force members conducted a traffic stop on a 2016 Toyota 4-Runner SUV on West Courtland Road and Highway 191.
The area is located about 40 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. Highway 191 runs between the border town of Douglas and Interstate 10.
Upon making contact with Love, the driver of the Toyota, sheriff’s officials discovered that he was allegedly driving on a suspended license and was also transporting six undocumented immigrants.
All subjects were turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol for processing.
Operation Safe Streets
The Cochise County sheriff’s office in October launched Operation Safe Streets II in reaction to Cartels that are recruiting drivers as young as 13 years old to pick up and drive migrants from the border to other parts of the state, according to the Herald/Review Media.
Sheriff Mark Dannels said American drivers are told to evade law enforcement at any cost, creating massive risk to the lives and safety of deputies, citizens, and the migrants they transport.
The new multi-agency task force focuses on Cochise County highways to step up their current tactics by borrowing other agency deputies and officers to help patrol the area, sheriff’s officials stated.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Hesperia man suspected of transporting undocumented immigrants