People smuggling

CHANGE OF STRATEGY

Sullivan City Police Department also has taken custody of nine suspected human smugglers so far this year. Three of those arrests happened in August including Roque’s. Criminal complaints show Roque, the only women of the three, was also the highest paid. After the traffic stop, she confessed she was promised $250 per person compared to the two male suspects, who said they were getting $100 or $150.

“We are in a corridor,” Ozuna said. “We have to be vigilant for anything and everything – and human smugglers are here. Our residents know it and our officers are always looking out for suspicious activity. Maybe there is a vehicle that maybe has defective equipment, maybe it’s riding all the way down, a defective shock or something, so we conduct a stop and it can lead to just about anything and everything.”

Ozuna said as long as there is probable cause to conduct a traffic stop and the evidence meets the Texas penal code for human smuggling, which includes the use of a motor vehicle and committing the offense for monetary value, they will continue to take on these cases and look for ways to stop these smugglers from exploiting his community and using their roads.