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16 immigrants found in fake wall inside trailer in South Texas

Driver of the trailer arrested, charged with 16 counts of human smuggling

16 immigrants were found behind a fake wall in a trailer in Kenedy, Texas on U.S. Highway 77. (Texas Department of Public Saftey, Copyright 2024 by KSAT - All rights reserved.)

KENEDY COUNTY, Texas – Sixteen immigrants were discovered in a fake wall inside a vehicle trailer, according to a social media post from a Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson.

The discovery was made after a DPS trooper pulled over a truck that was towing a trailer on Thursday afternoon in Kenedy County,

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The trooper stopped a Ford truck that was transporting a car inside a box trailer on U.S. Highway 77. The driver, Anthony Jhonson of Houston, consented to a search of the trailer, DPS said.

The trooper squeezed around the car to find a fake wall. He unbolted the screws in the wall and found several people right away.

“Behind that wall were 16 illegal immigrants crammed inside a small compartment with no air ventilation,” the social media post said.

Jhonson was arrested and charged with 16 counts of smuggling of persons with the likelihood of serious bodily injury or death, DPS said.

The immigrants were referred to Border Patrol, according to DPS.


About the Author
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Madalynn Lambert is a Content Gatherer at KSAT-12. She graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 2024 with a degree in journalism and minors in global and science communication.

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