Border Patrol arrested two cousins Wednesday who illegally crossed into the U.S. days ago on the King Ranch for accusations they attempted to guide a group of 31 people around the Falfurrias checkpoint.
Braulio Villa-Villa and Eduar Rene Arreola-Villa are charged with transporting people in the country illegally.
The arrests came after 3:42 a.m. that day when Border Patrol agents on patrol on U.S. Highway 281 received information that a vehicle entered the King Ranch through one of the gates.
“King Ranch security was contacted, and he advised the vehicle did not belong to the ranch,” the complaint stated. “King Ranch security drove to the area and advised the vehicle had cut one of the locks and made an unauthorized entry into the ranch.”
A Border Patrol agent operating mobile surveillance spotted two vehicles traveling west on one of the ranch roads when one of those vehicles stopped and two people got out and started walking toward the highway, according to the complaint.
“The agent noticed the individuals go into the brush and begin to observe traffic on the highway, possibly acting as scouts for the vehicles,” the complaint stated.
Border Patrol agents arrested the two people and one of them told agents that each vehicle had about 15 people who were being transported through the ranch, according to the complaint.
The agent operating the mobile surveillance watched as the vehicles traveled northeast further into the property and agents on the ground eventually found the vehicles abandoned in the ranch.
With the use of a small unmanned aircraft, Border Patrol agents found a group of 31 people — all in the country illegally — hiding in the brush.
Members of that group identified Arreola and Villa as the drivers of the vehicles.
During interviews, Arreola told Border Patrol he crossed into the country with his cousin, Villa, a week ago, while Villa said they crossed on Monday, according to the complaint.
Both men made a first appearance Friday morning in Corpus Christi federal court in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Julie K. Hampton, who ordered them temporarily held without bond pending a detention hearing scheduled for next week.
Since the men are in the country illegally, they will likely be held without bond pending the resolution of their cases.
Hampton ordered federal authorities to contact the Mexican Consulate to inform officials of their arrests, court records indicate.
