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Old bomb, 17 suspected illegals found in Phoenix
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Photo of old bomb found at All Products Recycling, 3220 W. Broadway Road, in Phoenix. PHOTO COURTESY OF MARICOPA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
Maricopa County sheriff's deputies found an old-style, aircraft bomb Wednesday at a west Phoenix recycling center.Deputies were responding to a tip about a hostage situation involving what they were told were illegal immigrants.
The large bomb turned out to be a dud, but deputies arrested 17 people they say are illegal immigrants at All Products Recycling, 3220 W. Broadway Road. Eleven were found on the property, six nearby.
Deputies also arrested Phil Estrada of Phoenix, who Sheriff Joe Arpaio said is believed to be the plant's owner. Estrada, 49, is a U.S. citizen who had two outstanding warrants for his arrest, one for assault, according to Arpaio.
"We responded with our special immigration unit. You can read about it in the Tribune," said Arpaio, referring to the paper's five day series on his campaign targeting illegal immigrants. "We saw people running from the building. While we were looking around, we saw a bomb about 4 1/2 feet high."
Deputies sent in a robot to examine the suspected explosive and transmit images of it to a bomb specialist. Because the device appeared to be military related, the sheriff's office called in the Air Force. Authorities could not determine whether the bomb was live, Arpaio said.
Deputies also called in members of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Just before 10 p.m., the ATF attempted to detonate the device and found there was nothing in it.
"It wasn't a working bomb, but we got a warrant last night and are going back to see if there's anything else like this," Arpaio said. "It's a large yard with a lot of equipment.
"Whether it's a suppression operation or not, when you have a lot of activity you never know what you'll come across. We get another illegal immigration tip and look what we found. No one's talking, including the alleged owner (Estrada)."
Arpaio said deputies hope to determine how the bomb got to the yard, who brought it there and why.
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