75 Mideast, Latin American, Asian migrants detained in border bust, Texas agents say
Border Patrol agents in southern Texas detained 75 immigrants from around the world after a semi-truck tried to escape a traffic stop on Wednesday, according to federal officials.
Laredo Sector agents spotted the tractor-trailer driving on U.S. 59 near Freer in the early morning on Wednesday and tried to pull the vehicle over, but the driver tried to get away and crashed through a ranch fence miles later, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said in a news release.
Then, as border agents approached the crashed truck, people “absconded into the nearby brush,” according to CBP.
Border Patrol agents and a CBP helicopter worked together to apprehend 61 people, CBP said Wednesday, including immigrants who — as revealed by immigration checks — were in the U.S. illegally from countries such as Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
But the number of people apprehended has risen: A CBP spokesperson told McClatchy News by email Thursday morning that the total number of detentions is now 75, including migrants from China, Nicaragua and Peru.
Inside the cab of the semi, agents also found 19 bundles of marijuana weighing nearly 330 pounds, which would sell for roughly $262,000 on the street, agents said.
The tractor-trailer was seized by the Border Patrol and the marijuana was handed over to the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to CBP.
