El Paso, TX (KKOB) – A man is in federal custody after he was stopped on I-25 north of Las Cruces and 42 undocumented immigrants were found inside his tractor-trailer.
Miguel Malo Poggio, is charged with transportation of illegal immigrants.
According to a federal affidavit, Border Patrol agents stopped the northbound tractor-trailer as part of an ICE investigation.
When agents stopped the trailer, they found 42 people inside including three unaccompanied minors.
Malo Poggio, allegedly handed an agent a set of keys from his pocket, indicating that the keys were for the cargo trailer, which was secured with a red tamper-evident seal.
The immigrants were inside unrestrained and seated on the floor in rows and columns without an apparent way to get out since the trailer was locked. The affidavit alleges that at least one of those inside stated they had illegally crossed into the United States less than a week prior, were taken to a stash house near El Paso, TX where their phones were confiscated and eventually loaded into the tractor-trailer where they were told to sit, remain quiet and stay hidden.
This case remains under investigation and is being prosecuted in El Paso.
