Border Patrol Sector (RGV) agents successfully disrupt five human smuggling incidents across the Rio Grande Valley

On Friday evening, RGV agents working south of Encino, Texas, on Highway 281, observed a GMC Yukon filled overcapacity with multiple passengers. As agents attempted to conduct a vehicle stop, the vehicle veered off the road and into a ranch fence. Multiple subjects, including the driver, absconded into the nearby brush. Agents discovered six people still within the vehicle. Agents determined all six individuals were illegally present in the country. The driver was not located.

Later that evening, a white Buick LaCrosse arrived at the primary inspection lane at the Javier Vega Jr. Border Patrol Checkpoint with one visible occupant. During the inspection, a K9 alerted to the vehicle and the driver was directed to park in the secondary inspection area. Instead, the vehicle drove off at a high rate of speed from the primary inspection lane fleeing the checkpoint. As agents followed behind the Buick, agents observed a suspicious white BMW make a U-turn at a crossover north of the checkpoint and continue southbound on Highway 77. Several agents followed the BMW while others continued searching for the Buick. A short time later, agents found the white Buick on the side of the road. A search of the vehicle revealed three migrants locked in the trunk. Meanwhile, the white BMW continued southbound on Highway 77 and was encountered by Willacy County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) deputies near Raymondville, Texas. Deputies detained a female occupant and observed the driver and another passenger abscond from the vehicle and enter a nearby residence. The driver of the BMW was encountered inside the residence and taken into custody by WCSO. The driver’s criminal history revealed several outstanding warrants. Border Patrol took custody of the female passenger for her suspected involvement in human smuggling. The driver of the white Buick was not located.