by A police chase near Uvalde, Texas, led to the arrest of a suspected human smuggler and the arrest of 13 Mexican immigrants. The fugitive smuggler endangered migrants and other motorists on the motorway by driving recklessly at high speeds in a bid to evade capture.
Texas Department of Public Safety officials tweeted a video showing a Highway Patrol trooper attempting to stop a suspicious vehicle. The driver of the red truck fails to yield to emergency lights and a high-speed chase ensues.
The pursuit continues on FM 481, also known as Old Eagle Pass Road, near Uvalde until other troopers put down the tire deflation devices. The driver eventually loses control of the vehicle and runs off the road.
The video shows the driver jumping out of the disabled truck and trying to escape. At that time, Border Patrol and other law enforcement vehicles arrive and surround the truck.
Troopers engaged the driver in a foot chase and eventually took him into custody without further incident.
Other law enforcement officers, including Border Patrol agents, arrested 13 immigrants allegedly smuggled in by the driver.
Agents identified the immigrants as Mexican nationals without permission to be in the United States.
The driver now faces state charges related to human trafficking and eluding police.
A few days earlier, a Texas DPS trooper stopped another human-trafficking vehicle near Del Rio, Texas, Breitbart Texas reported. After noticing several suspected immigrants lying in the back of the SUV, the trooper arrested the driver.
DEL RIO – Out last night with @TxDPS @TxDPSSouth Tpr Gooding as he tracks down smugglers using motorway corridors to smuggle people. We encountered 2 people smugglers from Houston who were trafficking 7 illegal immigrants from MX. Great job by Tpr Gooding! #OperationLoneStar pic.twitter.com/8E6dyNqr1e
— Chris Olivarez (@LtChrisOlivarez) October 5, 2022
“I’m not smuggling anybody,” the driver told DPS Trooper Jacklyn Gooding after finding seven immigrants stacked like cardboard in the back of the vehicle. Despite the refusal, the trooper arrested the driver and his front seat passenger — both from the Houston area.
The trooper arrested the driver and front seat passenger for allegedly smuggling nine Mexican immigrants in the SUV. Both are reportedly from the Houston area.
