RGV Agents Arrest 22 After Disrupting Seven Smuggling Events

by
February 22, 2023
1 min read

EDINBURG, Texas – Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol (RGV) agents disrupted five human smuggling events and two human stash houses over the weekend.

On Oct. 6, RGV agents received information of a suspected stash house in Edinburg. RGV agents convened at the residence and encountered two citizens from Mexico. One was identified as a caretaker. Both were placed under arrest without incident after they were determined to be in the U.S. illegally. Later, agents responded to a request for assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers near the Javier Vega Jr. Checkpoint. The driver of a F-150 failed to yield to DPS troopers, veered off the road, came to a stop and multiple people fled the vehicle.  RGV agents arrived at the scene of the bailout and were able to apprehend one migrant illegally present in the U.S. The driver was not located.

On Oct. 7, RGV agents and Starr County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area team (HIDTA) investigated a residence suspected of harboring several individuals. Agents and HIDTA officers apprehended two migrants, both illegally present in the U.S. and a juvenile U.S. citizen. All subjects were taken into HIDTA custody. In a separate event, two migrants were taken into custody by agents after a request for assistance from the Alton Police Department, after they claimed to have been held in a stash house in Alton and managed to escape.

On Oct. 8, McAllen Border Patrol Station (MCS) agents responded to a request for assistance from DPS troopers with six suspected migrants at a vehicle stop in McAllen. Agents determined the six individuals were nationals of Mexico and unlawfully present in the U.S. The driver was taken into custody by DPS. Earlier that morning, MCS agents responded to a request for assistance from Mission Police Department (MPD) in Mission with a traffic stop and two migrants were taken into custody after determining they were in the U.S. illegally. The driver and passenger, both U.S. citizens were arrested by MPD.

Additionally, MCS agents arrested three migrants from another smuggling event in McAllen.

Border Patrol processed all subjects accordingly.

Please visit www.cbp.gov to view additional news releases and other information pertaining to Customs and Border Protection.  Follow us on Twitter @CBPRGV and @USBPChiefRGV.

Phil Stilton
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Phil Stilton is the Editor and Publisher of Shore News Network, an independent digital newsroom providing original reporting on New Jersey, national news, government, public policy, public safety, courts, and community affairs.

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