Border Patrol Finds 17 Immigrants Hiding in Portable Toilet

Federal agents inspecting a portable toilet being towed by a pickup truck found 17 undocumented Mexican immigrants hiding in the compartment, Border Patrol officials said Thursday.

Border Patrol agents were told by a source three weeks ago that smugglers might try the novel approach.

Agents had been watching for trucks hauling portable toilets when one was seen about 30 miles east of San Diego and five miles north of the Mexican border about 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Border Patrol agents stopped a pickup truck pulling a portable toilet on a flatbed trailer on Old Highway 80 near Pine Valley, according to Border Patrol spokesman Ron Henley.

Henley said the toilet was about 5 feet high and 5 feet wide. The unit was wider than most, with a wider door built to accommodate a wheelchair.

The driver of the truck allowed Border Patrol agents to search the toilet.

The agents said they found the immigrants stacked on top of one another.

Three U.S. citizens in the cab of the truck were arrested and are being held in jail on smuggling charges.

All but two of the Mexican nationals were deported. The other two are being held as witnesses to testify against their alleged smugglers.