Texas Department of Public Safety stops human smuggling U-Haul van
Texas Department of Public Safety agents stop a human smuggling van operation taking place out of a U-Haul
The Texas Department of Public Safety stopped another smuggling effort this week, this time involving a moving van and three illegal immigrants.
On Tuesday, a Texas DPS trooper stopped a U-Haul van for a traffic violation in Kinney County, Texas. Kinney County sits on the Texas-Mexico border west of San Antonio.
A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper pulled over a U-Haul and found three illegal immigrants under blankets in the back of the van. (Texas Department of Public Safety)
During the stop, the trooper looked through the rear window and saw several individuals hiding under blankets.
After an investigation that resulted in the discovery of three undocumented immigrants inside the van, the driver, Belinda Spurgeon, was arrested.
Spurgeon was charged with three counts of human smuggling, according to Texas DPS.
A Texas DPS trooper found three illegal immigrants hiding in the back of a U-Haul van stopped for a traffic violation. (Texas Department of Public Safety)
In video footage taken by the Texas DPS trooper, Spurgeon said she did not know the three people the back of the van.
TEXAS DPS INTERCEPTS HUMAN SMUGGLING ATTEMPT, DISCOVER 18 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN TRUCK TRACTOR
She also told the trooper the three guys told her they needed a ride because their car broke down, which she agreed to.
Spurgeon later admitted to smuggling the immigrants from Canton, Texas, to Austin for $16,000, according to Texas DPS.
Operation Lone Star was launched as a border security initiative in response to a surge in illegal border crossings through Texas, along with President Biden’s immigration policies.
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Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott started the joint operation between the Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas National Guard.
Since it began, there have been 308,700 migrant apprehensions and more than 20,200 criminal arrests, according to the state of Texas.
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