BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and several federal agencies arrested three alleged human smugglers and recovered $20,000 in cash in south Bexar County.
The suspects were identified as Wilfredo Cruz Flores, 47, from El Salvador; Hector Alonzo Rodriguez Viera, 27, from Venezuela; and Juan Carlos Segura Piñon, 36, from Mexico.
A BCSO social media post said the arrests occurred during a traffic stop on Wednesday, Feb. 12, where investigators recovered $20,000 in cash.
The trio were driving a stolen pickup truck and attempted to evade border checkpoints by traveling across multiple ranches, BCSO said.
Through their investigation, BCSO learned the trio had been allegedly involved in human smuggling activity outside of Bexar County.
The sheriff’s office said the three suspects would smuggle immigrants in stolen vehicles. The trio received compensation for their smuggling efforts, according to BCSO.
The sheriff’s office believes the Mexican cartel was involved in the alleged human smuggling activity.
Although there weren’t any immigrants found in the stolen vehicle during the traffic stop on Wednesday, the sheriff’s office said the trio admitted their involvement in human smuggling.
To hide their movements, the trio wore traffic and construction vests in an attempt to blend in as they moved.
It is not clear from the post when these events happened.
The respective charges for each suspect are the following:
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Flores: Money laundering, engaging in organized criminal activity and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle
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Viera: Money laundering and engaging in criminal activity
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Piñon: Engaging in criminal activity and money laundering
All three were transported and booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center, BCSO said.
The Border Patrol Anti-Smuggling Unit, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement assisted BCSO with the arrests and investigation.
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