GLENDALE, Ariz. — A Glendale man is facing federal criminal charges after he allegedly attempted to transport more than a dozen undocumented individuals through Arizona by locking them in the back of a U-Haul truck.
Saif Ali Al Najafi, 25, was detained on the night of July 8 by Border Patrol agents who spotted the defendant driving in an area near the Arizona-Mexico border that's known for human smuggling operations, court records show.
Al Najafi told the agents he was lost but they became suspicious after noticing the truck's front passenger was wearing camouflage pants and carpet boots, which are commonly worn by those walking through the Arizona desert to evade detection.
Al Najafi's front passenger told agents they were in the country without authorization, court records show.
"AI Najafi then admitted to (Border Patrol) that there were others locked in the back of the U-Haul truck," prosecutors wrote in an affidavit.
Thirteen undocumented non-citizens -- including two juveniles -- were found in the back of the truck.
Al Najafi told investigators a friend contacted him through WhatsApp, offering money to have him transport some migrants. But the suspect claims he was forced to transport more people than he had expected, court records show.
One of the individuals in the truck told investigators they had paid $1,500 to have a guide smuggle them across the border to a spot where they were picked up by a U-Haul truck. They would then pay $9,000 once they reached their final destination in Virginia.
Prosecutors say another passenger recalled hearing the driver place a lock on the truck's door, at which point the witness became frightened.
The maximum penalty for Al Najafi's alleged offense is 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.
The dangers of human smuggling have recently been back in the national spotlight after 53 migrants were found dead in the back of a tractor-trailer last month in Texas. Federal prosecutors have filed charges against multiple people involved in that operation.
RELATED: He led three migrants into the hot Arizona desert. Now he's going to prison after one of them died
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