Nelson Country Traffic Stop Leads to Collapse of Illegal Immigrant Smuggling Ring | The powerful 790 KFGO

NELSON/BOTTINEAU COUNTIES, N.D. (KFGO) – A traffic stop in northeastern North Dakota’s Nelson County resulted in the arrest of several illegal immigrants in north-central Bottineau County from North Dakota.

The Nelson County Sheriff’s Office said a deputy stopped a pickup truck Saturday for speeding on U.S. Highway 2. The driver, Rafael Reynoldo, 38, did not have a driver’s license and failed to DUI tests. The purse belonging to Petrona Manzur, 49, contained a fake ID and a fake Social Security card, both in Mendoza’s name.

A search of the car revealed a machete hidden under the back seat, drugs and drug paraphernalia, and open containers of alcohol. Reynoldo, Manzur and another passenger, Jose Sanchez, 31, were arrested and taken to Devils Lake Jail. All lived in the St. Louis, Missouri area.

Reynoldo is charged with forgery, DUI and possession of a fake ID. Manzur is charged with forgery, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a false identification card. Sanchez is charged with providing a false report to law enforcement and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Agents learned that the three men were all in the United States illegally and were headed to a hotel on Lake Metigoshe to pick up other illegal immigrants and return them to metro St. Louis. Border Patrol agents went to the hotel and arrested a half-dozen illegal immigrants, according to court documents.