EAGLE PASS, Texas – Four people were rescued after Border Patrol agents found them trapped inside a portable water tank locked in the bed of a pickup truck during a patrol along a rural highway, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The Del Rio Sector Border Patrol said agents assigned to the Eagle Pass South Border Patrol Station encountered a 2007 Ford F150 on the evening of Sept. 14. During an inspection, agents found four individuals trapped inside a small portable water tank with no way to free themselves.
Using power tools, agents opened the tank and pulled the four out, CBP said. The individuals — two Bolivian nationals, one Cuban and one Colombian — declined medical attention and were taken to the Uvalde South Station for processing.
CBP said the driver, a 19-year-old male U.S. citizen, was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations and faces a charge under 8 USC 1324, which covers alien smuggling.
Smugglers don’t care for the safety of those they see as mere human cargo,” Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony “Scott” Good said. “Putting people in confined spaces with no means of escape is dangerous and barbaric. If not for the actions of our highly trained agents, this incident could have resulted in tragedy.