Cartel Mules Attempt to Use Airplane to Smuggle Illegal Migrants

EDINBURG – Rio Grande Valley Sector (RGV) Border Patrol agents made 30 arrests from four migrant smuggling events. Agents interdicted a smuggling event at an airport and recovered a stolen vehicle.

 On August 31, RGV agents received information of possible noncitizens attempting to board a private plane at the South Texas International Airport in Edinburg. Upon arrival, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers requested assistance with two vehicle pursuits that was initiated at the airport. Both vehicles eventually came to a stop, where multiple people were observed fleeing into the nearby brush. Agents arrested 13 noncitizens from the Dominican Republic and El Salvador. During the pursuit, a DPS vehicle was struck by one of the fleeing vehicles. DPS took custody of both drivers and vehicles.

Later that evening, McAllen Border Patrol Station (MCS) agents responded to a report of a suspicious Ford F250 near the Rio Grande in Los Ebanos. A Texas Constable working Operation StoneGarden encountered the truck and two subjects after the truck was immobilized in sand. Responding agents arrested four noncitizens in the brush running from the vehicle toward the Rio Grande. Edinburg Police Department officers arrived and took custody of the stolen vehicle and two U.S. citizens to face state charges.

Around noon yesterday, RGV agents investigated a residence in San Benito suspected of harboring noncitizens. Agents apprehended six migrants, all illegally present in the U.S. No caretaker was identified. 

Early this morning, MCS agents observed subjects load into a KIA near the Rio Grande in Hidalgo and depart the area. Agents located the vehicle and attempted to initiate a vehicle stop. The driver failed to yield and led agents on a vehicle pursuit. The vehicle stopped in an open field near Military Highway and the occupants bailed out. Agents apprehended three subjects. The driver was not located.

Border Patrol processed all subjects accordingly.

Editor's note: The aircraft in the accompanying photo is a stock image and was not involved in this smuggling attempt.