Phoenix woman, 19, arrested for human smuggling again

TUCSON, Ariz. – A 19-year-old Phoenix woman has been arrested on charges accusing her of human smuggling at the Mexican border for the second time this year.

The U.S. Border Patrol said Tuesday the woman was apprehended Monday near Nogales after agents saw three men emerge from the brush along Interstate 19 and get into a white Mercedes sedan.

Three Mexican national men tried to flee when agents stopped the car at the Nogales Station but all three were captured following a short foot chase.

The patrol says the woman who was driving the car is a U.S. citizen. Her name hasn’t been released.

The patrol says she was incarcerated for 60 days following a human smuggling conviction seven months ago. It says the three men are in the country illegally and will be processed for immigration violations.