Federal authorities say 53 migrants were discovered sitting along both sides of a trailer during a traffic stop near El Paso last week, an operation that has led to smuggling charges against three men. The case began Oct. 28, when Horizon Police Department officers pulled over a semi-truck driven by Miguel Angel Debruhl, a U.S. citizen, and unraveled from there into allegations involving a second truck, a suspected stash house and a five-figure smuggling fee.
During that initial stop, U.S. Border Patrol agents searched Debruhl’s truck and allegedly found a backpack stuffed with a large number of cell phones, according to the Department of Justice. Debruhl was arrested following that discovery, per the DOJ, and has since been charged with alien smuggling. Around the same time, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper pulled over a second semi-truck, which is where agents say they found the 53 migrants. As Fox San Antonio reported, the inspection led to “the discovery of 53 illegal aliens sitting along both sides of the trailer.”
That second truck was allegedly driven by Alan Montelongo, who agreed to an inspection of the cab and trailer, authorities allege. A criminal complaint, cited by the Department of Justice, alleges that troopers discovered the 53 migrants sitting along the trailer during that search. Debruhl and Montelongo reportedly left a truck yard together on Oct. 28, the same day the stops occurred.
A $16,000 Deal Through the Las Cruces Checkpoint
Investigators allege Montelongo agreed to transport the 53 migrants through the I-25 Border Patrol checkpoint in Las Cruces in exchange for roughly $16,000, a sum he was to split with Debruhl, according to Fox San Antonio’s reporting on the case. Montelongo has since been charged with alien smuggling alongside Debruhl…