Custom Border Patrol: Three failed smuggling attempts lead to 16 arrests in Texas

On Jan. 6, U.S. Custom and Border Protection agents and local law enforcement patrolling the Rio Grande Valley Sector (RGV) worked together to disrupt human smuggling.

In the afternoon, the Mission Police Department (MPD) requested assistance from the McAllen Border Patrol Station (MCS) for a vehicle stop that officers believed was involved in a possible human smuggling operation.  An MCS agent responded to the location, and after conducting an immigration inspection on all the subjects, determined four Chinese occupants were in violation of the federal illegal presence law. MPD seized the vehicle and detained the driver, and took custody of the four migrants to transport them back to a law enforcement station.

That same evening, MPD officers asked MCS agents for assistance after receiving information that possible illegal activity was taking place at a Mission based residence. Law enforcement officials later discovered three adult males and two unaccompanied minors illegally present in the U.S. without a caretaker for the children. 

Hours later, RGV agents working near Linn, Texas, pulled over a Dodge pick-up truck. The driver fled from law enforcement, and a pursuit ensued until the driver collided with a fence. Immediately upon the crash, several subjects fled the truck. A law-enforcement search of the area resulted in the apprehension of seven migrants, but not the driver. 

All subjects are currently being processed.

On Jan. 7th agents from the Laredo Sector Border Patrol intercepted a human smuggling attempt involving a tractor-trailer at an Interstate 35 checkpoint. 

The incident began the night before on the evening of Dec. 6, when a tractor-trailer was coasting into primary inspection lanes.  During an immigration inspection of the driver, a Service canine prompted agents to conduct a secondary inspection of the driver.  A search of the trailer revealed over 20 individuals from countries such as El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico taking shelter inside the vehicle.  All subjects were taken into custody by law enforcement agents for further investigation.