The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) released dash cam and body cam video from a recent traffic stop that led to the discovery of dozens of illegal immigrants packed inside the cab of a truck.
The incident occurred shortly before 5 p.m. on January 11 in Laredo, Texas.
A Texas DPS Trooper stopped a white truck without a trailer on IH-35 near mile marker 30.
After the vehicle came to a stop on the shoulder of the roadway, Texas DPS says that the truck driver “immediately fled on foot into a brushy area.”
When the trooper searched the truck, he found 28 individuals inside the cab.
NEW: Crazy human smuggling bust out of Laredo yesterday. @TxDPS pulled over a truck that had 27 illegal immigrants crammed into the cab being smuggled. The driver, a U.S. citizen, was arrested & charged. @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/7hEPjbBVdc
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) January 12, 2022
The truck driver, later identified as 24 year old Houston resident Dartavious Raytrell Dixon, was apprehended.
Dixon was charged with 28 felony counts of human smuggling and evading arrest. He was booked into the Webb County Jail.
All of the individuals found inside the cab of the truck were referred to U.S. Border Patrol.
The incident is under investigation by Texas DPS Criminal Investigations Division.
See video from the traffic stop below.
As part of Gov. @GregAbbott_TX’s #OperationLoneStar, @TxDPS Tpr’s continue to disrupt and intercept criminal activity occurring on #Texas highways. A Tpr stopped a truck-tractor on IH 35 near Laredo, TX, resulting in the recovery of 28 illegal immigrants. Driver was arrested. pic.twitter.com/UUUEDfpkAu
— TxDPS – South Texas Region (@TxDPSSouth) January 15, 2022