Fourteen migrants crossing through the Rio Grande Valley on Thursday found they paid thousands of dollars only to get stuffed into portable restrooms in a hasty and unsuccessful smuggling attempt.
The foul scheme was detected by a vigilant foreman who spotted a truck towing a flatbed loaded with two portable restrooms through private property Thursday.
Border Patrol agents noticed it was heading north from the river near McAllen and attempted to pull it over, according to a criminal complaint.
Although the driver, Juan Eduardo Flores, initially kept going, he eventually stopped. As agents approached Flores, they noticed pants and feet inside the portable restroom through a crack in the door.
Fourteen people hopped off the restrooms and were determined to be in the country illegally. Two of them, a man and woman from El Salvador, said they paid $12,500 and $12,000, respectively, to be smuggled into the U.S. They crossed the river in a group between eight and 15 people and were told to load up into the portable restrooms pulled by a blue truck.
Flores, the driver, reportedly said he was picked up from his home by a field worker and taken to the field where he received the truck, according to the complaint. He also received instructions on where to pick up the immigrants over the phone, and said he was expecting to get paid.
“Flores stated that he did not know how much he was getting paid, but he anticipated using the money to fund his drug addiction,” the complaint stated.
Flores appeared before a federal judge Monday for his initial appearance. He was not able to afford counsel and had an attorney appointed to him by the court.
A detention hearing was scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday.