Wolcott — For the first time in Eagle County history, sheriff’s deputies enforced federal human smuggling laws Monday when they stopped a minivan carrying 15 people believed to be here illegally.
Two men in the van, Carlos Ortiz-Lazcano, 29, and Saul Hernandez-Lopez, 27, were arrested and charged with human smuggling and reckless endangerment.
Hernandez-Lopez also faces charges of criminal impersonation and driving without a license or insurance. Deputies learned that Hernandez-Lopez had already been caught and deported six times in the past for smuggling people into the United States, authorities said.
Ortiz Lazcano and Hernanez-Lopez were being held Tuesday night at the Eagle County Detention Facility on a $100,000 bond.
The thirteen other occupants of the vehicle have been placed in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), pending deportation, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Last December, law enforcement agencies on the Western Slope, ICE and the 5th Judicial District enacted a policy to enforce and prosecute immigration laws.
Manny Gonzales: 303-954-1537 or mgonzales@denverpost.com.
