Man charged with smuggling after 2 Mexican men found dead in car trunk at San Diego crossing
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U.S. authorities on Wednesday filed smuggling charges against the driver of a car carrying two Mexican men found dead inside the trunk after it was inspected at a San Diego border crossing.
Nicholas George Zakov admitted trying to bring the men into the country illegally and told officials he was to be paid $3,500 for the job, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in San Diego.
Zakov could not be reached for comment.
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A Customs and Border Protection officer spotted something in the trunk of Zakov's 2012 Dodge Challenger while it was driving through an X-ray machine Tuesday afternoon at the San Ysidro port of entry, according to court papers.
When inspectors opened the trunk they found the 28- and 20-year-old men who were not breathing. The men were pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Zakov told investigators he coordinated the smuggling arrangement with three other men while he was in Mexico, and was told to take the migrants to a Denny's restaurant in Chula Vista, just south of San Diego, according to the complaint.
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Such deaths are rare in the border region where hundreds of migrants die each year trekking through Arizona deserts and Texas ranches to avoid detection after crossing the border illegally.