Tucson Woman Charged Twice This Month With Human Smuggling

By Dennis Lambert
Published: Tuesday, November 26, 2013 - 9:39am
Updated: Tuesday, November 26, 2013 - 10:41am
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A Tucson woman has, for the second time this month, been busted on human smuggling charges. 30-year-old Monica Estrada was taken into custody after being stopped for several traffic violations on Interstate 10.

Tim Gaffney of the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office said she has admitted receiving $800 for transporting the four undocumented immigrants who were in her Phoenix-bound vehicle.

“It’s basically the busiest drug and human trafficking area in the United States and part of it’s because we have Interstate 10 and Interstate 8,” Gaffney said. “They meet in Pinal County.”

Gaffney said Estrada had been arrested on similar charges in the same area on Nov. 13.  One of the deputies said he recognized the woman because she was driving the same vehicle she had been driving in the earlier bust.