Border Patrol agents thwart second human smuggling attempt involving false wall

A week after Border Patrol agents at the Falfurrias immigration checkpoint arrested a man for attempting to smuggle people concealed inside a false wall, agents at Sarita encountered a similar human smuggling tactic on Sunday, according to a criminal complaint.

Kendra Petatan was arrested for knowingly and with reckless disregard attempting to smuggle people illegally present in the United States she had picked up from McAllen.

At about 7:20 a.m. on Sunday, agents at the Sarita immigration checkpoint encountered a yellow International Durastar box truck driven by Petatan who declared that she’s a U.S. citizen according to the complaint.

As Petatan spoke to one agent, another K-9 unit noticed their dog alerted them to the vehicle, resulting in Petatan being sent to the secondary inspection area.

Once there, agents opened the back of the truck revealing large amounts of furniture including appliances, mattresses and other large items that make it difficult to access the entire interior of the truck.

“The search of the box compartment yielded negative results,” the complaint said.

Petatan was then instructed to drive her vehicle through a “backscatter” X-ray machine in order to complete the secondary inspection.

It was then that one agent noticed what appeared to be people concealed behind a false wall in the box truck, according to the document.

“Agents entered the truck again and located a false wall with a small access on the bottom right of the wall where the people were concealed,” the complaint said.

Agents found 24 people inside the compartment all of which admitted to being illegally present in the country.

In an interview with agents, Petatan provided a full confession and admitted to knowingly smuggling people. She stated that she agreed to smuggle people from McAllen through the checkpoint for $600.

Petatan appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jason B. Libby in Corpus Christi federal court Tuesday morning for his initial appearance.

The post Border Patrol agents thwart second human smuggling attempt involving false wall appeared first on MyRGV.com.