Smuggler had 23 immigrants under mulch cargo

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Frio County deputies recently discovered 23 undocumented immigrants being smuggled inside a hidden compartment in a freight truck carrying black mulch.
Deputies are reporting that they initiated a traffic stop on a tractor-trailer rig for a violation of the Texas Transportation Code shortly after 3 a.m. Tuesday, October 29.
The driver, identified as 36-year-old Gerson Martinez of Maryland, who was traveling east of Hwy 85 outside Dilley, stopped the truck near CR 4675. Martinez allegedly told deputies he had recently picked up the produce and was dropping the load of mulch off ‘somewhere along Hwy 85.’ He was unable to provide deputies with any paperwork pertaining to the load of mulch.

Frio County officers and US Border Patrol agents assist undocumented immigrants climbing out of a hidden compartment in the belly of a tractor-trailer rig that was carrying black mulch concealing a trap door in the floor. The immigrants have been turned over to USBP custody.

Emergency dispatchers notified deputies that the license plate was registered to a 2011 Toyota Sienna; the registration expired in 2018; and the vehicle identification number belonged to a 2000 Infiniti van. Information from dispatchers prompted a secondary search of the trailer, which revealed a trap door near the center of the trailer and underneath the mulch cargo. Deputies opened the compartment to discover 23 undocumented immigrants ranging in age from 18 to 44.
Paramedics, US Border Patrol agents and additional deputies arrived on scene to provide medical assistance to the smuggled passengers.
Martinez was transported to the Frio County Jail without further incident and faces 23 felony counts of smuggling of persons with the likelihood of causing serious bodily injury or death.
Border Patrol agents took custody of the undocumented immigrants.