Cartel Coyotes Try to Smuggle Dozens of Illegal Immigrants Stuffed in Box Truck

ALPINE – Agents from Alpine Station apprehended 67 illegal aliens south of the city this week.

On Tuesday, November 9, 2021, Border Patrol Agents working the Highway 118 checkpoint apprehended 67 UDNCs in a box-style truck with a false wall. The wall was used to conceal the people in this dangerous human smuggling scheme. The illegals were detected after a K-9 alerted to the presence of concealed humans in the rear compartment of the box truck. BPAs removed a total of 67 illegals (41 Mexican Nationals, 19 Guatemalan Nationals, 4 Honduras Nationals, and 3 El Salvadorian Nationals) from behind two separate wooden walls that were drilled into metal brackets in the rear compartment of the box truck. Four of the individuals were identified as minors, ranging from eight years old to 13 years old. One additional 17 year old was identified as an unaccompanied minor.

At the Alpine Border Patrol Station, criminal history record checks were run on all the aliens, revealing three of the UDNCs had been convicted of and removed from the United States as Aggravated Felons. These aggravated felony charges include Rape, Possession with Intent to Distribute Dangerous Drugs, and Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude. All individuals will be processed under established Big Bend Sector Guidelines.

“Immigration checkpoints are an essential tool in the U.S. Border Patrol’s mission to protect our nation’s borders,” said Big Bend Sector Chief Patrol Agent Sean McGoffin. “Transnational Criminal Organizations put profit over human life, often with devastating consequences.”

The driver of the box-truck, a United States Citizen, faces federal charges for Transportation of Illegal Aliens in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1324(a)(1)(A)(ii) and Transportation of a Previously Convicted Aggravated Felon in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1327.

“That unscrupulous smugglers put lives in danger to support their criminal activity is reprehensible,” said Taekuk Cho, Acting Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations in El Paso, Texas. “Homeland Security Investigations continues to collaborate with our law enforcement partners to prevent Transnational Criminal Organizations from putting greed and profit before human life.”