Video: Smugglers Jeep stuck on makeshift ramp on US-Mexico border

Yuma - A Jeep Cherokee belonging to suspected drug smugglers got stuck on the US-Mexico border fence when a clever driver attempted driving the vehicle over the fence on a makeshift ramp.

CBS News reports US Border Patrol agents discovered the jeep perched precariously on top of a 14-foot-high (4.3m) security fence near the Imperial Sand Dunes, five miles west of the Colorado River and the Arizona state line, in the Yuma sector of the Mexican border, just before midnight on October 31. According to the Yuma Sun, the suspected smugglers got the Jeep to the top of the fence by driving it up the ramp, but the Jeep got stuck on top of the fence because of the flawed design of the ramp. The Daily Mail reports the drivers were unable to maneuver the Jeep over the crag of the barrier. U.S. Border Patrol spokesman Spencer Tippets, said two men were trying to get the jeep over the fence when Border Patrol agents spotted them. The men fled back to the Mexican side of the security fence.

US Customs and Border Protection

Jeep Cherokee stuck on top of US-Mexico border security fence

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Agents said the Jeep was empty but that it had probably carried contraband bales of marijuana before it got stuck on the fence. Tippets told the Yuma Sun: "The back of the vehicle was opened, so it appears that they took all that out before the agents arrived." CBS News reports this is not the first time Mexican smugglers have tried to scale the border security fence using a makeshift ramp.

Liveleak

Jeep on border security fence

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Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Enrique Zarate, said agents have seen similar attempts in the Yuma Sector. He commented that this was one of the more "creative" attempts. He said. "We've also seen attempted smugglers trying to ramp over the Normandy barrier using sandbags to build a bridge." Last year, agents reportedly found a truck driven up to the border fence that had ramps built into it. The smugglers drove up the fence in a pickup, but the occupants were arrested.

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Border patrol agents move the jeep

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The Yuma Sun reports Tippets said: "When smuggling organizations make an attempt like this, it helps us to realize how successful we really are here in the Yuma Sector. Before they didn't have to use drastic measures. But now that the border has essentially been shut down in this area, they are left with only drastic measures - things that they wouldn't normally ever even consider." CBS News reports border patrol agents say the Yuma sector has seen a drastic reduction in human smuggling activity, allowing agents to focus on drug smuggling. Tippets said: "Because of how successful we are we don't have all the clutter like we had in years past... Now that all the clutter is gone, we're able to focus on things that are bigger threats."