17-year-old caught smuggling 18 immigrants near the US-Mexico border, Texas cops say

A teenager was caught smuggling 18 people near the U.S.-Mexico border, Texas police say.

Laredo cops investigating stolen vehicles used for human smuggling spotted a truck reversing in a driveway of a house on Tuesday, according to a news release.

They spotted two people loading others in the backseat of a red Ford F-250, police said. The officers also reported finding several people in the bed of the truck.

When the cops got closer, people began exiting the house from the windows and back door, police said. The two people loading passengers into the truck also fled, police said.

The officers caught nine people who ran from the house, including a teen loading passengers in the truck.

Daniel Esquivel, 17, was charged with 16 counts of human smuggling and two counts of smuggling persons under age 18, police said.

Eighteen undocumented immigrants were turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol.

This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 3:42 PM with the headline "17-year-old caught smuggling 18 immigrants near the US-Mexico border, Texas cops say."