Traffic stop leads to immigration check

Sheriff’s deputies found 16 people suspected of entering the country illegally packed into a minivan during the weekend after a traffic stop on Interstate 70.

A Douglas County deputy stopped the van about 11:30 p.m. Friday on eastbound I-70 near Lawrence because the driver wasn’t staying in one lane, said Lt. Doug Woods, a sheriff’s spokesman. The van had Arizona license plates, and all 16 people in the van were Hispanic males, Woods said.

The deputy called U.S. immigration officials to the scene, and all the occupants, including the driver, were taken into custody, Woods said.