A man who authorities say used a speed boat to smuggle people into the country illegally, crossing them through the Rio Grande near Mission, was arrested by border agents Sunday.
Jose Luna, a United States citizen, was arrested Sunday afternoon after agents recognized Luna’s vehicle, which was hauling a speed boat that was used to smuggle six people from Mexico.
According to the criminal complaint, a caravan of vehicles entered the community around 12:05 p.m. Among those vehicles was a GMC Sierra registered to Luna that was towing a speed boat, a white Dodge Ram flatbed truck and a red Chevrolet Silverado.
Agents along with Texas Department of Public Safety troopers later witnessed a speed boat navigating the river crossing into the U.S. where a drone operator saw several people “behaving suspiciously before exiting the speed boat.” All six subjects were seen entering the Dodge Ram before the Chevy Silverado left the area.
Troopers stopped the driver of the Dodge Ram for speeding. According to the complaint, the driver and five passengers were unable to provide valid identification and were found to have illegally entered the U.S.
The six people were arrested by Border Patrol and transported to the McAllen station for processing.
Upon being shown a six-person line-up the driver of the Dodge, Ana Rosa Rogel-Perez identified Jose Luna as one of the men involved in the smuggling attempt.
After the dodge was stopped the driver of the Chevy Silverado continued to drive away and was no longer located. Border Patrol boat units witnessed the same speed boat being docked in Mexico, loaded onto a trailer and taken into Mexico.
