EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – An Arizona woman is facing federal felony charges after allegedly being caught driving unauthorized migrants from Bisbee to Phoenix last week.
The arrest of Courtney Alana Hansen is linked to surveillance on a home in Bisbee from where eight previous human smuggling events have originated, according to records filed in U.S. federal court.
Smuggler says he’s brought migrants over border wall 20 times
It was at that home on Park Drive that border agents say they saw a charcoal gray Dodge Charger stop in the adjoining alley and a man exit the vehicle and enter the residence from behind on Jan. 19. Three males and a female came out of the house and got into the car. They were followed by the individual who initially exited the vehicle. He was carrying backpacks that he placed in the Charger’s trunk before going back into the residence, court records show.
U.S. Border Patrol agents tracked the Charger from a distance as it traveled on State Highway 80 east of Bisbee. They flashed their lights and four people took off running into the desert as soon as the vehicle stopped, court records show.