NMSP News:

LAS CRUCES — A New Mexico State Police (NMSP) officer arrested a driver after finding three undocumented immigrants in the trunk of the vehicle. 

A NMSP officer conducted a traffic stop on a 2006 BMW passenger vehicle June 26, 2024 on I-25 near mile marker 27, just past the border patrol checkpoint.

The driver was identified as 17-year-old Leland Antonio Munoz Dominguez, who had been reported missing earlier in the year. While planning to release Dominguez to his grandmother, the officer heard a knocking noise coming from the vehicle’s trunk. 

Upon inspecting the trunk, the officer found three undocumented immigrants inside. Dominguez was detained and Border Patrol was informed. When Border Patrol arrived, they took custody of the immigrants.

The Juvenile Probation Office was contacted along with the District Attorney’s office who authorized three  charges of human trafficking and one charge of endangerment of a child due to of one of the immigrants being 16. Dominguez was arrested and booked into the Dona Ana County Juvenile Detention Center.

Undocumented imigrants discovered in trunk of a vehicle on I-25 in Las Cruces. Courtesy/NMSP