LAREDO, Texas - On September 11, at around 3:40 a.m., Border Patrol agents assigned to the Freer Border Patrol Checkpoint encountered a tractor trailer at the primary inspection lane. While the immigration inspection was being conducted, a service canine alerted to the presence of narcotics and/or concealed persons within the tractor-trailer and subsequently was referred to secondary. The driver of the tractor trailer refused to stop at secondary and fled the checkpoint at a high rate of speed.
Border Patrol agents assigned to the Freer station immediately deployed a pursuit vehicle after the tractor trailer. The driver failed to yield to the agent’s emergency equipment and continued east on Highway 44. Agents terminated the pursuit of the tractor trailer at the intersection of Highway 44 and Highway 16 in Freer, Texas.
The pursuit continued by other law enforcement agencies northbound on Highway 16 through multiple counties. At approximately 6:50 a.m., the driver was stopped by Texas Department of Public Safety at the intersection of Interstate Highway 35 and Farm to Market Road 150 north of San Marcos, Texas.
“Fleeing from a Border Patrol checkpoint is not only against the law, it also endangers the motoring public and agents by placing them at a substantial risk. This was a collaborative effort among the law enforcement agencies and exemplifies the outstanding partnership along the South Texas border,” said CBP South Texas Commander Robert L. Harris.
A total of nine subjects were taken into custody. Agents performed an immigration inspection on the occupants of the vehicle and determined that seven of the nine subjects were illegally present in the United States.
The Laredo Border Patrol Sector is part of the South Texas Campaign, which leverages federal, state and local resources to combat transnational criminal organizations. To report suspicious activity such as drug and/or alien smuggling, contact the Laredo Sector Border Patrol toll free telephone number at 1-800-343-1994.