Texas Department of Public Safety troopers continue to apprehend human smugglers and gang members and find dozens of people being held in stash houses at the border.
Troopers foiled human smuggling events in Webb County this past week.
On Tuesday, two alleged human smugglers were driving on I-35, which runs north and south from the border town of Laredo to San Antonio, roughly a two- to three-hour drive. Troopers stopped both vehicles and those inside attempted to run away, running across the highway, attempting to evade arrest. Among them was an alleged smuggler, Daniel Pena, from Zapata, Texas.
Troopers then looked inside his pickup truck and found 15 Mexican nationals hiding in the rear cab and inside toolboxes.
The other alleged smuggler was Mario Gutierrez Zambrano, a Mexican national illegally in the United States. Both he and Pena were arrested and charged with smuggling of persons and evading arrest. All 15 Mexicans were handed over to Border Patrol.
