According to a press release, a canine unit detected the individuals while border agents were questioning the driver of the vehicle about his citizenship status, prompting agents to wave the vehicle for further examination. When the dogs again reacted to the vehicle, border patrol officers found “75 shivering migrants attempting to stay warm.”
The interior of the truck, which also contained pallets of flour, was 58 degrees Fahrenheit and locked from the outside. The driver and all of the smuggled individuals were taken into custody and given medical exams, but did not need any medical care beyond that, according to CBP.
Also in October, CBP reported a drug seizure worth tens of millions of dollars.
The agency said that border agents confiscated a haul of methamphetamine estimated to be worth $48,898,072. The narcotics were seized at Veterans International Bridge in Brownsville on October 22.
In a CBP press release, Brownsville Port Director Tater Ortiz pointed to the acumen of the border guards who detected the contraband, which was found in a 1997 Freightliner truck that had been flagged for additional security measures.
“This substantial seizure illustrates the importance of remaining vigilant and our CBP officers used their experience and enforcement tools available in keeping these dangerous narcotics from entering our country,” Ortiz said.
CBP officers arrested the driver of the vehicle, a 60-year-old Mexican man, and transferred him to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations, a division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The illegal stash weighed about 2,445 pounds and the suspect was transporting it in 62 plastic buckets, according to CBP.
Per CBP statistics, there were 1.67 million enforcement actions against illegal aliens by border patrol agents in Fiscal Year 2021, a dramatic increase from 405,036 encounters in FY 2020 and 859,501 encounters in FY 2019.
Border agents seized 190,861 pounds of methamphetamine in FY 2021, compared to 177,684 pounds in FY 2020 and 141,970 pounds in FY 2019.
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Hayden Sparks
Hayden Sparks is a senior reporter for The Texan and a lifelong resident of the Lone Star State. He has coached competitive speech and debate and has been involved in politics since a young age. One of Hayden's favorite quotes is by Sam Houston: "Texas has yet to learn submission to any oppression, come from what source it may."
