Texas DPS arrests driver after 20 migrants discovered inside semi on I-35
(Source: Texas DPS)
LAREDO, Texas - State troopers discovered 20 undocumented migrants, including four minors, hidden inside the sleeping compartment of a commercial truck tractor during a traffic stop in South Texas last week, authorities said.
20 undocumented migrants found
The driver, 25-year-old Miguel Angel Velazquez Chavez, faces multiple charges following the incident, which occurred on Interstate 35 in Webb County, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Miguel Angel Velazquez Chavez, 25 (Source: Texas Department of Public Safety)
A DPS trooper initiated a traffic stop on a white Volvo truck tractor near mile marker 28 just after 6 p.m. on Monday, May 18. Upon stopping, Velazquez Chavez allegedly fled the vehicle on foot but was immediately apprehended by law enforcement.
Through the investigation, it was discovered the truck tractor was a cloned vehicle.
"The vehicle in the footage is a Volvo tractor-trailer that has never been part of our fleet," said officials with Super Transport International LTD (STI). "Our actual unit bearing those markings is a Kenworth, confirmed to have been operating in another state at the time of the stop."
A subsequent search of the truck tractor's cab revealed 20 people hidden inside the vehicle’s sleeping quarters. Investigators identified the individuals as migrants from Mexico and Guatemala.
Velazquez Chavez, a Mexican national, was arrested and booked into the Webb County Jail. He has been charged with smuggling of persons and evading arrest.
The 20 migrants were turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol.
The Source: Information in this article is from the Texas Department of Public Safety.