U.S. Border Patrol agents and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers in west El Paso have stopped at least two fake FedEx vans that were used to smuggle migrants across the southern border, authorities said on Wednesday.
Agents had received a credible tip about a smuggling scheme using FedEx vans and were stopping several vans with the purple and orange logo on Friday, according to a statement from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). After stopping several “suspicious” vehicles, border authorities identified three vans that were being used for smuggling. Two of the vans were identical to the vehicles used by FedEx.
Between the three vans, there were 26 undocumented migrants from Mexico and Guatemala. They were found in good health, border officials said. The migrants were processed according to standard procedure.
"This tactic has been used before by smugglers, the transnational criminal organizations come up with different ways to try to defeat the Border Patrol's intelligence," Border Patrol Agent Sean Coffey told CBS4 about the scheme.
Four individuals—two Americans and two Mexicans—have been charged in connection to the migrant smuggling scheme. Their names have not yet been released.
“El Paso Sector Border Patrol Agents continue to successfully disrupt smuggling schemes and the illegal operations of the Transnational Criminal Organizations,” El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony Scott Good said in a press release.
“I am grateful for our law enforcement partnerships at the state, local and federal levels. This alliance is successfully disrupting dangerous criminal organizations, their leadership, and their human smuggling schemes,” he added.
The scheme is the latest that has been uncovered by Border Patrol agents in the El Paso Sector, where over 307,000 migrants have been intercepted and 203 stash houses have been found. In June alone, El Paso agents encountered a daily average of 435 migrants.
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