CBP finds a man hidden underneath flatbed of pickup truck

EL PASO, Texas - A human smuggling attempt is stopped by alert U. S. Customs and Border Protection Officers at the Paso Del Norte border crossing.

On Sept. 25 officers referred a 45-year-old male U.S. citizen to a secondary inspection.

During the inspection, the pickup truck was scanned, and the x-ray showed an image of a human silhouette in the flatbed part of the truck.

Further inspection by officers showed a man strapped with a harness.

“Our officers must maintain constant vigilance against human and narcotic smuggling,” said Port Director Ray Provencio. “Often times human smugglers will place migrants’ lives’ in danger in their attempts to illegally smuggle them into the country for their own financial gain."

Officers used biometric verification to confirm the man to be a 33-year-old male, a Mexican citizen who had been previously deported.

The driver and the undocumented non-citizen were both arrested pending criminal proceedings.