A man has been arrested for the smuggling attempt of 23 migrants, according to an arrest affidavit.
At about 8:55 p.m. Oct. 3, a Volvo tractor truck hauling a white trailer arrived at the Interstate 35 checkpoint. Agents had previously received lookout information for a similar vehicle attempting to smuggle migrants through the checkpoint.
Authorities identified the driver as Carlos Rafael Esquivel-Garcia, a Mexican citizen. He appeared to be nervous when asked if he was the only occupant in the tractor. He responded that he was. Esquivel-Garcia added he believed his destination was Georgia, authorities said.
During the inspection, a K-9 unit was alerting to the scent of narcotics or concealed people within the trailer. Esquivel-Garcia handed an agent a copy of the cargo manifest. The destination did not match the destination Esquivel-Garcia had mentioned, states the affidavit.
Agents then discovered 23 migrants concealed within the trailer. Esquivel-Garcia and the migrants were escorted inside the checkpoint for further investigation.
Homeland Security Investigations special agents took over the investigation. In a post-arrest interview, Esquivel-Garcia stated he was an experienced truck driver who was currently unemployed.
For this load, he stated that a truck driver recruited him and introduced him to another male who coordinated the transportation of the load. Esquivel-Garcia claimed he had never been recruited to drive a load by people associated with a legitimate company.
Esquivel-Garcia stated he agreed to take this load from Laredo to somewhere in Georgia for 27 cents per mile. He received instructions to pick up the 18-wheeler from the side of the road instead of a legitimate business or warehouse.
After allowing special agents to review his cellphone, authorities discovered a point of contact for Esquivel-Garcia. Esquivel-Garcia had been communicating with the contact throughout the event and received calls after the failed human smuggling attempt, court documents state.
Esquivel-Garcia further claimed that he was not provided information for the drop-off location in Georgia.
He added that this was unusual for a legitimate transportation job. Esquivel-Garcia further stated he did not have enough fuel to arrive in Georgia and was not given any means to pay for the fuel, according to court documents.
Esquivel-Garcia was charged with transport, attempt to transport and conspire to transport the migrants.
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