San Ysidro
A Tijuana man was arrested Monday at the San Ysidro port of entry after a Chula Vista undercover officer observed him selling phony U.S. and Mexican immigration documents, an Immigration and Naturalization Service official said.
Lucas Diaz Cruz, 53, was confronted by the undercover officer, who saw Diaz sitting in a parked car in San Ysidro sorting through immigration documents, according to INS District Director Jim Turnage. The officer took Diaz and the documents to INS officials at the San Ysidro border crossing and Diaz consented to a search of his vehicle, Turnage said.
According to Turnage, INS officers found 74 phony immigration documents, including U.S. visas and Mexican passports, in Diaz’s car. Investigators also found Polaroid cameras in the car, he added.
Turnage said that Diaz has two prior convictions for smuggling aliens in 1971 and 1982. Despite the convictions, Diaz, who is a Mexican citizen, has permanent-residence status in the United States.
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