Two Texans pleaded guilty to charging thousands of dollars to smuggle migrants into the U.S. through Laredo, a U.S. attorney said.
The men in question, Mac Quese Howard and De Richardson Miller, admitted to conspiring to transport migrants through Laredo, in South Texas, U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei said, according to Border Report.
The men were caught after attempting to circumvent a Border Patrol checkpoint near Laredo. After being stopped for the traffic violation, authorities found three migrants hidden in the back seat of the car.
After being detained, the men confessed they had traveled from their home outside Lubbock to Laredo to take the migrants, whose ultimate destination was San Antonio. They expected to receive $5,000 for driving the migrants. They could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and get a fine of up to $250,000.
Episodes of the kind abound in the state. Earlier this month a dozen migrants were found hidden inside hollow hay bales following a traffic stop in the state.
Fayette County Sheriff Keith Korenek said an official stopped a pickup truck carrying a trailer loaded with the bales about 90 miles east of San Antonio.
A closer inspection of the vehicle showed that the bales had been "meticulously altered and hollowed out to create concealed compartments," the sheriff said.
After looking inside, authorities found metal frameworks and "multiple undocumented individuals being smuggled in dangerously confined spaces."
The driver of the vehicle was taken to the hospital and two people accused of coordinating the operation were taken into custody and are facing federal and state charges related to human smuggling. The migrants were turned to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for processing.
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