4-Yr-Old Found with Marijuana, Human Smuggling Group near Border in Texas

Border Patrol agents and state police in Texas found a four-year-old boy and his mother as they interdicted a smuggling operation involving migrants and marijuana. The group of 15 people brought 116 pounds of marijuana into the U.S.

Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents and Texas Department of Public Safety Troopers observed a group of approximately 15 people crossing the border river that separates the U.S. and Mexico shortly after midnight on April 12, according to information provided by Border Patrol officials in Texas. Some of the group appeared to be carrying large bundles of marijuana as they crossed the Rio Grande near Roma, Texas.

As law enforcement officials approached, many of the occupants of the vehicle attempted to flee into the brush in this well-known drug and human smuggling area. A search of the area led to the apprehension of 13 migrants who were illegally present in the United States.

Agents identified the migrants as citizens of Central American nations, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. The migrants included a four-year-old boy and his Guatemalan mother, officials stated. Officials did not find the driver of the vehicle.

The agents seized the 116 pounds of marijuana and estimated the street value at more than $93,000.

The next day, Border Patrol agents teamed up with state and local law enforcement partners to interdict six human smuggling attempts that turned into vehicle pursuits at various locations in the Rio Grande Valley Sector. The pursuits led to the apprehension of more than 40 migrants.

Agents assigned to the Falfurrias Immigration Checkpoint on U.S. Highway 281 also rescued seven migrants who smugglers locked inside a refrigerated tractor-trailer. The temperature inside the trailer was reported to be 51 degrees.

Early Thursday morning, Rio Grande City Station agents came upon two large groups of migrants. The encounters led to the apprehension of 355 migrants, officials reported. The groups included 181 single adults, 132 family members, and 42 unaccompanied alien children.