EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A woman who says she drove her SUV off the beaten path to take photographs of the stunning southern New Mexico landscape is facing smuggling charges. She and a companion allegedly failed to convince the U.S. Border Patrol they were being Good Samaritans by giving four people in need of help a ride to Tucson, Arizona, with a detour through New Mexico State Highway 338. ‘High value’ migrants, drugs likely came across border tunnel, expert says Federal officials say the highway is a notorious smuggling route and the four passengers in the black GMC Terrain with Indiana license plates were migrants dressed in camouflage. On Saturday, border agents from the Lordsburg (New Mexico) Station received notice of suspected migrants running along NM 338. Several units deployed to an area near the town of Animas. Border billboards warn against unregulated cabbies, rideshare drivers Agents received further information of a black SUV possibly involved in migrant smuggling. They located and stopped the black GMC with six people on board including four wearing camouflage clothing typically furnished by smugglers in Mexico to clients to blend in with the desert brush after they illegally help them over the border wall. A couple driving an SUV with Indiana license plates is being charged with migrant smuggling after being stopped with four unauthorized foreign nationals near Animas, N.M. According to court documents filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, border agents arrested the migrants and took in a male and a female American citizen for questioning. 600 wooden crosses honor migrants who died crossing the border in 2024 The male identified as Jermiah Earl Goins allegedly told agents he was taking his wife to Animas because she is a photographer and wanted to take pictures of the landscape. He said he saw four people in need of assistance and gave them a ride. He said he’s not in the habit of asking people for identification or immigration status. Records show the woman identified as Chelsea Naida Ruiz told investigators she takes photographs of nature to develop commercial wallpapers for mobile phones. Ruiz said Goins asked her to stop the GMC on the side of the road and four people she didn’t know got in. She said she didn’t ask any questions because she trusted Goins. County takes action to address high-speed DPS pursuits However, border agents who searched the vehicle and the couple’s belongings allegedly found two loaded handguns with a round in the chamber and marijuana in a bag. An interview with one of the migrants now being held as a material witness revealed the group had paid money to Mexican smugglers for crossing them illegally into the United States, and that they were to walk in the wilderness for five days until they were picked up by a designated vehicle. Records show the witness told agents the vehicle showed up on Jan. 11 and a blonde woman told them to lay down, stay down and not to move. Visit the BorderReport.com homepage for the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the U.S.-Mexico border Goins and Ruiz have been charged with conspiracy to transport illegal aliens. They are scheduled to make an initial appearance in a federal courtroom on Wednesday in Las Cruces, New Mexico.