Texas Border Business
EDINBURG, Texas – Rio Grande City Border Patrol Station (RGC) agents encountered two large groups near La Grulla and disrupted a marijuana smuggling event with the assistance of Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers.
On November 6 and 7, Rio Grande City Border Patrol Station (RGC) agents encountered two large groups totaling 283 migrants at the same location in Starr County. The groups were comprised of 44 family members, 58 unaccompanied children, and 181 single adults. The migrants were from Jamaica, and various Central and South American countries.
On November 5, a RGC camera operator observed an All-Terrain-Vehicle (ATV) with three subjects and bundles moving north from the Rio Grande near Escobares. Agents and troopers responded and interdicted the ATV. The ATV driver injured his arm after colliding with a DPS vehicle. He was arrested and escorted to a hospital for evaluation and treatment. One of the passengers, also a Mexican national, was arrested. The third subject eluded apprehension. The marijuana weighed 182 pounds and is valued at more than $145,000. The marijuana and migrants were turned over to DPS to face state charges.
All subjects were processed accordingly.
“Identifying & classifying who and what enters our country among these large groups of migrants and others will always be a primary task,” stated RGV Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez. “Working with our law enforcement partners to combat criminal activity on the border allows us to sustain an operational advantage on border security.”
