The Associated Press

DURANGO, Colo. - Federal agents are seeing an increase in illegal immigrants being smuggled through southwest Colorado as the government cracks down on the traffic in Phoenix and other areas.
The immigration enforcement office in Durango is one of the busiest in the Four Corners area. A federal operation in Phoenix called ICE Storm has forced smugglers to go through the Durango area, which is connected to larger cities and the Mexican border by U.S. 160 and 550.

"Durango, because of ICE Storm having its successes, has become a very busy office for us in terms of overland smuggling such as this," said Michael Masto, assistant special agent in charge of the regional U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Denver.

Area authorities said up to 25 people at a time have been found crammed into minivans and pickups during traffic stops.

In Durango, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office gets weekly calls from police agencies that pull over suspected smugglers or respond to traffic accidents involving vehicles packed with illegal immigrants.

"I've seen a number of these vehicles where the seats have been removed," said Warren Long, the agent in charge of ICE's Office of Investigations. "People are spread out like cordwood on the floor."

The driver of an SUV that crashed in northeastern Colorado, killing five people, was indicted in February on smuggling charges.

There's no evidence the Durango area is a destination for illegal immigrants, who are usually headed to larger cities where there are more jobs, Long said.

Federal agents in the Phoenix operation have made 190 arrests and seized $5.2 million in cash and 99 weapons to try to stem the flow. Smuggling by air out of Phoenix airports has been shut down, authorities said.