Smuggler Arrested After High Speed Chase with Truck Full of Illegals

DEL RIO, TX – U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Comstock Station arrested a United States citizen for attempting to smuggle four undocumented immigrants in a pickup truck.

On May 27, Comstock agents observed a pickup truck stop on the side of Highway 90, where four suspected undocumented immigrants ran out of the brush and got in to the vehicle. When the agents approached the vehicle, the driver accelerated and fled the scene. Additional agents pursued the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop near FM 163. The driver, a 24-year-old male U.S. citizen, was placed under arrest for alien smuggling.

The four passengers, identified as undocumented Mexican nationals, all previously deported from the United States, were processed per U.S. Customs and Border Protection guidelines.

The driver faces a charge of 8 USC § 1324 – alien smuggling, which carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

All individuals apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol undergo criminal history checks utilizing multiple databases including the use of biometrics to ensure those with criminal history are positively identified regardless of their immigration status.

“Comstock agents did an excellent job preventing this attempt to evade our immigration laws,” said Del Rio Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Randy Davis. “We will continue to working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to investigate and criminally prosecute anyone involved in human smuggling in the Del Rio Sector.”

The Del Rio Border Patrol Sector is part of the Joint Task Force-West South Texas Corridor, which leverages federal, state and local resources to combat transnational criminal organizations. To report suspicious activity call the Del Rio Sector’s toll free number at 1-866-511-8727.