Texas state police disrupted a human smuggling attempt by plane, leading to the apprehension of six illegal immigrants, including a deported felon wanted in Wisconsin for sexual assault on a child.
Three other individuals, including a female U.S. citizen accused of organizing the flight from Weslaco, Texas, bound for Houston, are now facing federal charges in connection to the foiled plot.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced on Tuesday that a joint operation between its Criminal Investigations Division (CID) and Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) disrupted a human smuggling attempt by plane. During Operation Lone Star, special agents noticed several vehicles arrive at the Mid Valley Airport at approximately 11 a.m. on Sept. 25.
The vehicles dropped off seven individuals who boarded a Raytheron plane, authorities said.
The agents conducted a ramp check and identified six illegal immigrants and one female U.S. citizen from Weslaco — 21-year-old Desiree Love Rodarte.
Authorities say Rodarte was coordinating the smuggling attempt to Houston.
The Hidalgo County Constables Office Pct. 1 assisted agents in stopping the two vehicles involved. Luis Armando Lopez-Alvarado, 29, of Pharr, and James Martinez, 24, of McAllen, along with Rodarte, were arrested and now face federal charges for bringing in and harboring certain aliens.
The illegal immigrants, four males and two females from El Salvador and Mexico had fraudulent Texas identification cards, police said. They were referred to the U.S. Border Patrol.
Further investigation revealed that one of the males, Ivan Flores-Rivas, 38, of Mexico, was a previously deported felon who was wanted in Wisconsin for sexual assault of a child, police added.
This is the third human smuggling attempt by plane DPS has been involved with, a spokesman for the Texas Highway Patrol – South Texas Region added in an email to Fox News Digital.
CID and HSI continue to investigate.
