U.S. truck driver arrested after feds find 117 people crammed into trailer

This week, U.S. Border Patrol agents intercepted a major human smuggling attempt at a Texas checkpoint.

The incident occurred on September 29 at the U.S. Highway 83 checkpoint north of Laredo, Texas.

Authorities say that a tractor trailer approached the checkpoint and was searched after a canine unit alerted to the vehicle.

Agents discovered 117 people from Mexico and Guatemala inside the trailer.

All of the people in the trailer and the truck driver, who is a U.S. citizen, were taken into custody. The truck and trailer were seized by U.S. Border Patrol.

The case remains under investigation by Homeland Security Investigations.

“Despite the threat of the global pandemic and a noted increase in COVID-19 infections among detainees, smugglers continue to endanger the lives of individuals they exploit by placing them in compromising, enclosed places without regard to temperatures, PPE, or means of escape,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in an October 1 statement.