Border Patrol Agents Rescue Four Trapped in Portable Water Tank

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

DEL RIO, TEXAS (News Release) - Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents rescued four illegal aliens trapped in a water tank in the back of a pickup truck.

While patrolling a rural highway on the evening of Sept. 14, agents assigned to the Eagle Pass South Border Patrol Station encountered a 2007 Ford F150 pickup truck. 

Upon inspection, agents found four individuals trapped inside a small portable water tank in the bed of the pickup with no means of freeing themselves. Using power tools, agents were able to open the tank and extract the four. The individuals, two Bolivian nationals, one Cuban, and one Colombian declined medical attention and were transported to the Uvalde South Station for processing.

The driver a 19-year-old male U.S. citizen was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations and faces a charge of 8 USC § 1324 (alien smuggling).

“Smugglers don’t care for the safety of those they see as mere human cargo,” said Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony “Scott” Good. “Putting people in confined spaces with no means of escape is dangerous and barbaric. If not for the actions of our highly trained agents, this incident could have resulted in tragedy.”