Following a high-speed chase in Webb County, Texas Department of Public Safety officers thwarted another human smuggling operation.
After the chase on Interstate Highway 35, the driver stopped the Ford construction truck he was piloting. DPS troopers found that the bed of the vehicle was packed with 11 illegal aliens concealing themselves with traffic cones.
DPS officers arrested the suspected smuggler, Israel Alexander Salas of Brownsville.
“Troopers charged Salas with 11 counts of smuggling of persons with the likelihood of serious bodily injury and evading arrest,” DPS spokesperson Chris Olivarez posted Monday on X. “Troopers referred 11 illegal immigrants to the US Border Patrol.”
Human smugglers in the state of Texas are continually developing different tactics for avoiding detection and subsequent capture by law enforcement. For example, earlier this year, a truck driver was arrested for smuggling 27 illegal aliens in a horse trailer.
Jose Guadalupe Salinas from Palmview towed the trailer with a Ford F-250 truck. After being stopped by DPS officers who asked to search his vehicle, he consented and DPS discovered the illegal aliens.
Three females required medical attention. They were suffering from the effects of severe dehydration resulting from a lack of ventilation.
Further, some smugglers escaped law enforcement capture by ditching their vehicles in the Rio Grande. According to footage released to the public, smugglers and the cartels coordinate efforts to avoid detection and arrest.
In Sabinal, smugglers are stealing local license plates from similar vehicles. Police Chief Jesus “Chuy” Reyes said that plates are often swapped from cars matching those acting as smuggling catalysts.
When a smuggler drives from the border to a major city, local license plates minimize suspicions.