Border Patrol foils multiple smuggling attempts, including one involving plane

Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents foiled at least four smuggling plots and arrested 30 people last week, including an attempt involving more than a dozen migrants who were discovered trying to board a private plane in Texas.

Texas Department of Public Safety troopers initiated two vehicle pursuits at the South Texas International Airport in Edinburg, Texas on Wednesday after Border Patrol agents received information that noncitizens were attempting to board a private plane there.

During the chase, a Texas Public Safety vehicle was hit by one of the fleeing automobiles, Customs and Border Protection stated. Both vehicles eventually came to a stop and multiple people fled into the bush. Agents took custody of the vehicles and drivers and arrested 13 migrants from the Dominican Republic and El Salvador.

The migrants' arrests come as Border Patrol announced the arrest of a total of 30 people in four migrant smuggling attempts last week. Three of the four foiled smuggling attempts involved so-called migrant "bailouts," which occur when smugglers engage in high-speed chases in an attempt to outrun police officers.