A man from Jonesboro, Arkansas, has been found guilty of transporting illegal aliens in a vehicle at the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint. U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei announced that Noel Mercado, 48, was convicted on two counts of alien smuggling after a jury deliberated for less than 30 minutes following a trial that lasted under two days.
The incident occurred on January 5 when Mercado drove his Ford F350 pickup truck to the checkpoint. A K-9 unit alerted authorities to the vehicle, prompting further inspection. An x-ray scan revealed two individuals bolted inside modified wheel well compartments and two more concealed in an auxiliary fuel tank below the truck bed.
The four individuals were identified as illegal aliens from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala without legal authority to be in the United States.
During the trial, Mercado claimed he had traveled to the Rio Grande Valley for trading baseball cards and collectibles and denied knowledge of the concealed individuals in his truck. The jury rejected his defense and found him guilty.
"As the Department cracks down on human smuggling and illegal immigration, we can expect smugglers to get more desperate, and thus more creative," said Ganjei. "I would like to thank the jury for their service."
U.S. District Judge David S. Morales presided over the trial and scheduled sentencing for June 11. Mercado faces up to five years in federal prison for each count of conviction and a possible maximum fine of $250,000.
The investigation was conducted by Customs and Border Protection, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Lamont and Ashley Pruitt prosecuting the case.