VERO BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — A man is facing charges after authorities say he transported people who were in the country illegally from their homes to locations where they harvested saw palmetto berries.
On Sunday, Aug. 16, at about 12:45 a.m., officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, along with agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, initiated a traffic stop on a black Chevrolet Silverado on I-95 for a faulty license plate.
According to an FWC arrest report, officers made contact with the driver, identified as Roger Hernandez Samayoa, and saw seven passengers inside the vehicle who appeared dirty and disheveled from working outdoors in a wooded agricultural area.
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As law enforcement officers and ICE agents spoke with the passengers, they learned the passengers knew Samayoa only as the driver who took them from their homes to locations where they harvested saw palmetto berries for money.
The passengers said Samayoa, 42, would later pick them up and take them back to their homes. When authorities asked whether Samayoa knew about their immigration status, the passengers said he did.
The FWC arrest report says Samayoa gave statements that were inconsistent with the passengers’ accounts before invoking his right to counsel.
According to the arrest report, Samayoa knowingly transported multiple people and financially benefited from the transportation arrangement connected to their work.
The report said there was not enough evidence to prove the workers were forced or threatened, so the officer could not determine that human trafficking had occurred. Samayoa was still arrested and booked into the Indian River County Jail on other charges.