Border Patrol agents in Brownsville on Friday morning arrested an alleged drug smuggling mother who brought her infant along to pick up a drug load.
In a press release, Border Patrol reported responding to a Ford Escape loaded with marijuana bundles near the Rio Grande traveling away from the river and conducted a traffic stop.
The driver of the vehicle, which had a Baby on Board sticker on the back window, voluntarily stopped and agents observed several bundles inside the vehicle, as well as an infant strapped into a car seat sucking off of a bottle.
The agents arrested the driver and front passenger.
A Border Patrol spokesperson said the child was turned over to a family member.
The criminal complaint against the driver and front passenger with more details of the allegations won’t be publicly available until Monday after the pair make first appearances in federal court.
This isn’t the first time a would-be smuggler has brought along a child during an alleged smuggling scheme.
Last February, Brownsville Border Patrol agents arrested Blanca Veronica Rivera after stopping her red PT Cruiser after a concerned citizen reported seeing the vehicle stop near Wood Street and pick up six to eight people.
In that instance, federal authorities discovered several undocumented immigrants inside the vehicle, along with Rivera’s three minor children.
Court documents indicate the children in that case were also turned over to a relative.
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© 2019 The Brownsville Herald (Brownsville, Texas)
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