Nation : 45 Illegal Aliens Nabbed on Jet at Stopover on L.A.-N.Y. Flight

ATLANTA —  Federal immigration agents apprehended 45 suspected illegal aliens today on an Eastern Airlines jet making a stopover on a flight from Los Angeles to New York.

Agents found 45 people from Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia, Honduras and Ecuador on Eastern Flight 88, said Thomas P. Fischer, district director of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Atlanta. Three other people were detained originally but then released.

“This may be part of a massive alien smuggling operation, and our agents will continue to investigate all possible leads to finally break this large-scale, nationwide operation,” Fischer said.

Agents said the majority of the suspected illegal aliens were traveling to New York to find jobs. The stopover at Atlanta was scheduled.

The roundup at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport was similar to one at the airport in February, 1989. Then, INS agents found 79 illegal aliens aboard another Eastern flight from Los Angeles to New York.

INS agents said then that they were tipped off to the possible smuggling operation by a disgruntled businessman who frequently flew the route.

The aliens apprehended in 1989 told INS agents they had paid $900 to $4,000 each to smugglers to get across the border into Los Angeles and then paid other smugglers for plane tickets to New York.