FALFURRIAS, TEXAS — A truck driver and two others are facing federal smuggling charges after U.S. Border Patrol agents say an X-ray scan revealed 14 people hidden inside a compartment in a box truck at the Falfurrias checkpoint early Wednesday, according to a criminal complaint.

The complaint says a white tractor-truck driven by Yolanda Faye Wright arrived at the checkpoint at approximately 5 a.m. When agents asked what she was hauling, Wright allegedly said tires and provided a handwritten receipt.

^{Photo credit: Federal criminal complaint}

Agents then deployed a K-9, which alerted to the truck, prompting a secondary inspection, the complaint states. An X-ray scan reportedly showed people inside the cargo area, and agents cut the lock and accessed the box truck, where they found 14 people inside, including Jose Enrique Murillo-Aguilar, Allan Michel Diaz-Cruz, and Jose Luis Ruiz-Escobar, according to the complaint.

Investigators said the group included people who allegedly entered the U.S. without authorization from several countries, including China, Turkey, Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, and Ecuador. Agents also reported finding a bag of cellphones inside the cab.

According to the complaint, Wright told agents she was struggling financially and was offered a job driving a box truck between Houston and South Texas, expecting to be paid $500 for transporting tires. She allegedly said she and a man identified as “Enrique” drove from Houston to a house near Edinburg, where she laid down to rest while the truck was loaded, and later received a bag of cellphones before driving north toward Houston.

Murillo-Aguilar allegedly told agents he had been living in Houston since 2023 and was offered $3,000 to help move people from the McAllen area to Houston, the complaint states. Investigators allege Diaz-Cruz helped load people into the truck at a stash house, and Ruiz-Escobar described conditions inside the stash house and identified Diaz-Cruz as being in charge, according to the filing.

Federal court records cited in the report said Wright, Murillo-Aguilar, and Diaz-Cruz remain in federal custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for Jan. 20.

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