A man who illegally entered the U.S. was caught smuggling over 20 people after his tires blew out when he crossed some railroad tracks due to how many people he had in the vehicle, a criminal complaint stated.
Daniel Ibarra-Sanchez, a citizen of Mexico, was taken into custody Wednesday after Border Patrol agents found him attempting to smuggle people into the country.
Agents arrived in Sullivan City around 7 p.m. Wednesday in response to a “camera activation” in Los Ebanos. When they arrived they saw a black Chevorlet Suburban traveling north with the “rear fender almost touching the back tires.”
“The front of the Suburban was easily observed riding higher than the rear,” the complaint stated.
The vehicle then traveled westbound at a high rate of speed until it hit the railroad tracks, where the back tires exploded and nearly caused a rollover.
The driver, Ibarra-Sanchez, and 23 other people were found in the surrounding area where they were taken into custody and transported to the McAllen Border Patrol Station. Each was determined to be in the country illegally.
Ibarra-Sanchez told authorities that he had been paid $30 per person he transported. An unidentified man provided him with the Suburban. He also said that the phone found in the vehicle was given to him and included “a map and directions to drive in and out of the area,” stated the complaint.
He also told authorities that he did not know where he was going to drop off the people in the vehicle.
