Texas Police Bust Alleged Out-of-State Smugglers near Border

Texas Department of Public Safety troopers busted three out-of-state human smugglers over the weekend near Bracketville. One alleged smuggler admitted to being paid $2,000 per migrant to drive from Eagle Pass to Del Rio.

Texas DPS spokesman Lt. Christopher Olivarez tweeted a video of a traffic stop a highway near Bracketville in Kinney County. The trooper found six migrants stacked in the rear area of the SUV.

A @TxDPS Trooper stopped a human smuggling attempt on RM 334 in Bracketville, Kinney Co. The driver & passenger, of Arkansas, were smuggling 6 illegal immigrants from MX. The passenger was wanted for parole violation. #OperationLoneStar pic.twitter.com/JUgnzej0Lf

— Chris Olivarez (@LtChrisOlivarez) November 7, 2022

Accused smuggler Latavia Jenkins of Camden, Arkansas, told the trooper she picked up the migrants because she saw them walking along the roadway where she had pulled over.

“I swear, we pulled over because I felt something on my car,” Jenkins told the trooper. “We just saw them walking and they asked us for a ride, I swear, I swear.”

Troopers found the rear seats laid down with a total of six Mexican nationals in stacked in the rear of the SUV.

Troopers also arrested the front-seat passenger, Kajsean Gude from Little Rock, Arkansas, on charges of human smuggling. Gude also has an outstanding warrant for a parole violation for evading arrest, Lt. Olivarez said in a statement provided to Breitbart Texas.

Elsewhere in Kinney County, a DPS trooper stopped a car with New Jersey license plates, Olivarez told Breitbart Texas. During an interview, the trooper found four migrants from Mexico inside the New Jersey man’s vehicle.

Olivarez said the man admitted to troopers that he was paid $2,500 per migrant to drive the Mexican migrants from Eagle Pass to Del Rio.

While troopers had the New Jersey man pulled over, another vehicle pulled up behind the trooper’s patrol vehicle. A DPS special agent walked up to the vehicle and noticed Colorado plates.

The driver was attempting to smuggle the 4 illegal immigrants from Eagle Pass to San Antonio. The driver was in possession of meth & a pipe. She was arrested for human smuggling & the illegal immigrants were referred to #USBP. 2/2 #OperationLoneStar

— Chris Olivarez (@LtChrisOlivarez) November 8, 2022

As the woman began speaking with the agent, he noticed several people hiding under blankets in the rear of the vehicle. The special agent found four illegal immigrants including a five-year-old child from Venezuela.

Olivarez told Breitbart Texas they have no idea why the woman decided to stop behind the patrol vehicle.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.