Seventeen illegal immigrants were discovered hiding in a three-foot compartment of a semi-truck bearing a Lowe’s logo by Texas police on Friday.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers stopped the truck in Kenney County, Texas, shortly after it crossed the U.S.-Mexico border. Initially, the vehicle was pulled over for expired tags, but during the stop, officers uncovered a group of illegal migrants hidden in a concealed compartment inside the trailer.
Bodycam footage showed officers breaking down a fake wall within the truck, revealing the cramped space where the immigrants were concealed. The driver, Megel Cazanna Patterson, who was wearing a Lowe’s T-shirt, identified himself as the driver but failed to provide any explanation regarding the truck’s contents. He consented to a search, which led officers to discover the fake wall hiding the immigrants.
“Troopers reported several males and females were drenched in sweat, suffering from dehydration and numbness in their legs as a result of being crammed in a 3-foot-wide space,” said DPS spokesperson Lt. Chris Olivarez. “Great work by our DPS Troopers in preventing a mass casualty smuggling event.”
Olivarez added that some of the migrants needed medical attention due to their condition.
After being apprehended, the 17 migrants were handed over to Border Patrol. Patterson, the driver, was charged with smuggling persons with the likelihood of causing serious bodily injury or death, according to Olivarez.