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  4. Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol agents arrest child smuggler

Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol agents arrest child smuggler

Release Date
Tue, 08/07/2018

FALFURRIAS, Texas – U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested a woman attempting to smuggle three unaccompanied children through the checkpoint.

On Saturday evening, Falfurrias agents referred a Nissan Sentra to the secondary inspection area after the driver, a 43 year-old United States citizen, began interrupting the primary agent during the immigration inspection of all the occupants in the vehicle. The investigation revealed that the woman was attempting to smuggle three unaccompanied children from Mexico through the checkpoint.

The driver’s biological children were inside the vehicle along with the unaccompanied children. The woman claimed she was the mother of all the children inside the vehicle.

Agents arrested the woman and her U.S. citizen children were turned over to an uninvolved family member.

The parents of the unaccompanied children were contacted and the children will be processed accordingly.

The case remains under investigation.

The Rio Grande Valley Sector currently has multiple campaigns focused on rescues and danger awareness, such as “Operation Big Rig” and “No Se Arriesgue” to combat smuggling and ultimately save lives. Call 911 to report suspicious activity; “They’re humans, not cargo!”   

Please visit www.cbp.gov to view additional news releases and other information pertaining to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Follow us on Twitter at @CBPRGV.

Last Modified: Feb 03, 2021