Agents detain 18 illegals at traffic stop

By John Tompkins
TheFacts.com
Published December 6, 2006

ANGLETON — What started as a routine traffic stop for a seat belt violation Tuesday morning resulted in the detention of 18 illegal immigrants inside a four-door, Ford F-350 truck.

A Brazoria County Sheriff’s deputy pulled the vehicle over on Highway 288-B in front of the old Intermedics facility because he noticed five people sitting in the back seat of the cab of the truck who were not wearing seat belts, sheriff’s investigators said.

“Upon walking up to the vehicle with seven people in the cab, there were an additional 11 in the bed of the truck,” said Buck Henson, an investigator with the sheriff’s office.

The driver of the truck was a business owner and told investigators he picked up the 18 men in Houston and was driving them to Angleton for work, Henson said.

The 18 illegal immigrants were taken into custody by the Houston office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.