Officers with the Bexar County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office arrested seven people allegedly involved in a migrant smuggling scheme that transported 11 migrants to a hospital in San Antonio, Texas, on Thursday. The migrants were found hiding in a hidden compartment in a gooseneck trailer outside a safe house in South San Antonio. Officers received a tip reporting the criminal activity earlier in the day and spotted the trailer as it arrived at the suspected safe house.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salinas said 11 migrants were treated at the scene and transported to area hospitals for heatstroke. They are expected to survive. The incident happened on the city’s south side, near Loop 1604 and Oak Island Drive. A total of 26 migrants were rescued from the trailer.
Seven suspected human traffickers arrested in Bexar County (Bexar County Sheriff’s Office)
Salinas said when his officers arrived on scene, multiple suspects were seen fleeing the premises. After a short pursuit, several suspects were arrested, including one who was transporting the migrant victims in a gooseneck trailer. In total, seven suspects were arrested and are now facing human trafficking-related charges. Salinas said the case is being investigated by his department and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
At a news conference at the scene of the incident on Thursday, Salinas told reporters the migrants were suspected to have been in the trailer for more than three hours as temperatures soared to nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The migrants were being transported in containers with little ventilation and no source of water. One of the Guatemalan migrants allegedly paid $16,000 to be transported from the border area to San Antonio in the smuggling scheme.
“The conditions inside are dire, the heat is intense. Thankfully, we were able to get to these people before anybody died as a result,” Salinas told reporters at a news conference.
Deputies found several suspects inside the building believed to be a cache, along with several rifles and bulletproof vests, and Salinas Sheriff’s Office officials said several of the suspects will likely face weapons charges in addition to human trafficking charges.
Thursday’s incident was one of many encountered by Salinas County sheriff’s deputies patrolling Interstate 35, which stretches from the border area of Laredo, Texas. Human trafficking in the state becomes more dangerous as summer temperatures rise. In June 2022, deputies responded to another smuggling incident in southern Bexar County, where 53 migrants died after being abandoned inside a locked large trailer.
Breitbart Texas reported that 42 migrants were pronounced dead at the scene, and another 11 died at a local hospital after spending hours inside the enclosed trailers. Two men have been arrested and charged in connection with the incident.
Randy Clark Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the U.S. Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as Chief of the Law Enforcement Operations Division, where he led operations for nine Border Patrol stations in the Del Rio Sector, Texas. Follow him on Twitter: @RandyClarkBBTX.
