Earlier this month, a Texas Border Patrol checkpoint used X-ray technology to bust a migrant smuggling operation — a day after officers at the same facility intercepted a truck carrying a liquid substance disguised as bleach, federal authorities said.
The two gruesome discoveries were made by Border Patrol agents at the Falfurrias checkpoint in Texas – about 40 minutes north of the US-Mexico international border.
On Dec. 8, agents stopped a commercial 18-wheeler and found more than 3,000 pounds of meth inside containers disguised as everyday household items, according to the US Border Patrol.
The contents of 1,400 bottles tested positive for liquid meth. It has an estimated street value of over $100,000. The bust is the third largest seizure of meth in the history of the Border Patrol, the agency said in a press release.
Method had a street value of $100,000.
The next day, the truck carrying the camper trailer was X-rayed and 15 illegal immigrants were found hiding inside.
On December 9, agents at the same facility in Texas found four migrants huddled in a metal section of pavement.
As the construction equipment passed the Falfurrias checkpoint, the agents noticed a metal plate with screws loose and opened it, discovering that the four men had no way to escape and were confined to their airways.
In both cases, the drivers and migrants were detained by border guards.
Smugglers often resort to dangerous and desperate measures to smuggle drugs and people into the country.
In June, 53 migrants died in San Antonio, Texas after being trapped in a tractor trailer in hot conditions without air or water for several hours before being found. Their deaths are the deadliest smuggling incident in US history.
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