Texas DPS Troopers initiated a traffic stop on US-227 in Kinney County just outside of Del Rio, Texas on the morning of Friday, August 30. This traffic stop was a part of Operation Lone Star. Officers stopped what appeared to be a Lowe’s Home Improvement delivery truck. The Troopers who made the stop noticed the driver exhibiting strange behaviors and upon inspection of the driver’s travel itinerary discrepancies were noticed.

 

The driver, Cezanne Megel Patterson, 28, of Jackson, Mississippi, consented to a vehicle search. When Troopers searched the cargo area of the truck they located a false compartment at the far end of the truck. Using breaching tools the Troopers gained access to the false compartment and discovered seventeen individuals crammed inside the approximately three foot space that lacked adequate ventilation.

 

 

The group included thirteen males and four females from the countries of Columbia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. Several were treated for dehydration before being handed over to the Border Patrol. The driver was placed under arrest and transported to the Val Verde Processing Center where he was charged with smuggling of persons with the likelihood of serious bodily injury or death.

According to US Customs and Border Protection between October 2019 and June 2024 there were approximately eleven million border encounters. These encounters are separated into three categories: apprehensions, inadmissible and expulsions. For more information on each category you can click here to go to the Office of Homeland Security Glossary.

 

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