Dozens detained in smuggling incident
A tip to law officers led police to a tractor-trailer unloading dozens of suspected unauthorized immigrants, resulting in 67 people being detained, Pearsall police said.
The incident comes amid increasing smuggling activity since the start of the year, as immigrants continue coming to the southern border.
The Pearsall Police Department said in news release that officers were dispatched Monday to FM 1581 and Comal Street after a witness called to report that someone’s limbs were coming out of a small door at the end of a trailer.
The caller reported following the 18-wheeler to the 800 block of South Oak where the driver stopped and began to let people out of the trailer, the release said.
Officers arrived at the location to find several people running in different directions. Pearsall police and officers from agencies that included the Frio County Sheriff’s Office, the Pearsall Independent School District and the Texas Department of Public Safety began to chase the fleeing people, according to the police. They detained 67 people, among them a pair of juveniles in their early teens and the suspected driver.
“Officers quickly called for EMS to the location and began to provide water to the subjects that appeared to look as if they were dehydrated and were in need of medical attention,” the release said.
The matter was turned over to the investigative arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The driver is expected to face federal smuggling charges, the release said. He had not been charged as of Wednesday.
“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is aware of the incident and is investigating,” the agency said in a statement Tuesday.