Uploaded February 2007 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago
CNN: Arizona's gang and immigration task force, known as GITEM, says the violence is the result of increased federal and local law enforcement pressure on the border.
Commander Dan Wells, GITEM: It's becoming increasingly more difficult for human smugglers to get their loads across the border. So, many of the smuggling organizations have turned to hijacking human loads that have already made it across the border.
Wian: Wells says his department and the Border Patrol have seized an alarming number of AK-47 and other high-powered rifles recently. -- Officials expect violence will continue to escalate in the near future as federal and local law enforcement struggles to recapture the border from drug and alien smugglers
CNN: Arizona's gang and immigration task force, known as GITEM, says the violence is the result of increased federal and local law enforcement pressure on the border.
Commander Dan Wells, GITEM: It's becoming increasingly more difficult for human smugglers to get their loads across the border. So, many of the smuggling organizations have turned to hijacking human loads that have already made it across the border.
Wian: Wells says his department and the Border Patrol have seized an alarming number of AK-47 and other high-powered rifles recently. -- Officials expect violence will continue to escalate in the near future as federal and local law enforcement struggles to recapture the border from drug and alien smugglers
