(The Center Square) Texas Department of Public Safety state troopers working through Operation Lone Star continue to engage in dangerous, high-speed pursuits of human and drug smugglers, some with open arrest warrants, and apprehend mostly single, military-age men who’ve illegally entered the U.S.
In one instance, human smugglers during a high-speed chase attempted to run over a Texas State Trooper. The incident was caught on body camera footage.
The drivers who have open warrants are the most dangerous, law enforcement officials have explained to The Center Square, because they have the most to lose if they get caught. They are often illegally carrying firearms and in one recent incident, one tried to run over a state trooper, authorities said.
Most smugglers are responding to ads on social media to smuggle people from the border to larger cities in Texas, according to DPS. Prices for smuggling vary depending on the location, distance to travel, and number of people in the car, but if caught, result in multiple felony counts.
In Kinney County, on April 13, a DPS OLS trooper stopped the driver of a black Volkswagen Passat for a traffic violation on Highway 277, which runs parallel to the Rio Grande River. Upon inspection, he learned the driver had picked up four Mexican nationals, including one minor, who’d entered the country illegally, DPS spokesperson Lt. Chris Olivarez said.
The driver, from Houston, responded to a Craigslist ad to smuggle people from the border.
“Criminal smuggling organizations continue to recruit drivers through social media and advertisements. The driver was recruited through Craigslist,” Olivarez tweeted with accompanying photos.
The Craigslist ad, listed under “Houston, labor gigs,” states, “Transportation Gig Available! All you need is a Vehicle… ALL Vehicle Types Wanted. Payout Same Day and CASH ON DELIVERY!!”
Earlier this month, DPS troopers engaged in a high-speed pursuit on Highway 90 in Kinney County after the driver of a vehicle failed to pull over for a traffic violation. DPS troopers pursued him from behind and drove in front to prevent him from getting away. The driver veered off and on the highway and into the lane on the opposite side of the highway. He eventually lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a fence.
The driver and passenger, two men from Louisiana, tried to run and were apprehended. The driver was a confirmed Bloods gang member wanted in Baton Rouge for murder and attempted murder, police said. The driver and passenger were arrested and face federal smuggling charges with a firearm.
Hiding inside the car were six foreign nationals, including two in the trunk, attempting to be smuggled from the border after they’d illegally entered Texas. They were turned over to Border Patrol.
In Zavala County, a known smuggler tried to run over a DPS trooper while attempting to evade capture during a high-speed pursuit. This occurred last month, but DPS only recently published the video of the incident.
The trooper had tried to conduct a traffic stop on March 24 in Zavala County. The driver refused to stop and took off reaching speeds of over 120 miles an hour. The driver crossed into neighboring Maverick County, where a trooper was waiting on the side of the road to deploy stop sticks. The driver avoided them and attempted to run over the trooper, authorities said. The driver continued speeding and passed cars in a no passing zone and drove into oncoming traffic. He swerved to avoid hitting a car and drove into a ditch and bailed out. He was caught, arrested and charged with evading and aggravated assault on a public servant. Officers also learned he already had an outstanding warrant in San Patricio County for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Gov. Greg Abbott maintains that OLS officers “continue to fill the dangerous gaps left by the Biden Administration’s refusal to secure the border.” He also argues that everyone OLS officers have apprehended or arrested and every ounce of drugs they’ve seized “would have otherwise made their way into communities across Texas and the nation due to President Joe Biden’s open border policies.”
Since Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021, law enforcement officers have apprehended over 365,000 illegal foreign nationals and made over 27,000 criminal arrests with more than 24,000 felony charges reported. They’ve also seized over 380 million lethal doses of fentanyl, more than enough to kill everyone in the U.S.
