Texas DPS Troopers Discover 17 Illegal Immigrants in Hidden Compartment

On Friday, August 30, 2024, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Troopers working Operation Lone Star found 17 illegal immigrants concealed in a hidden compartment of a cloned home improvement store delivery truck during a traffic stop on US-277 near Del Rio.

The incident began early in the morning when a DPS Trooper pulled over a vehicle resembling a Lowe’s Home Improvement Store delivery truck. The Trooper noticed inconsistencies in the driver’s itinerary and suspicious behavior. Upon the driver’s consent to search the vehicle, Troopers discovered a false compartment in the truck’s cargo area. Using breaching tools, they accessed the compartment and found 17 individuals crammed inside the three-foot-wide space without any air ventilation.

The group included four females and 13 males from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. They were removed from the compartment and treated for dehydration before being referred to Border Patrol.

The driver, Cezanne Megel Patterson, 28, from Jackson, Mississippi, was arrested and charged with smuggling of persons with the likelihood of serious bodily injury or death. Patterson was taken to the Val Verde Processing Center.