JIM HOGG COUNTY, Tex. (KGNS) – A 25-year-old Houston man has been charged with smuggling 40 people in a box truck with a hidden compartment, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas said.
Kenneth Gamboa is scheduled to appear in federal court. Twenty-six of the people found in the truck had been deported before and now face charges for coming back to the U.S. illegally.
The complaint says that in the early hours of Aug. 15, Gamboa drove a box truck with paper plates to a Border Patrol checkpoint on Farm to Market Road 1017 in Jim Hogg County. A K-9 unit alerted officers to the presence of humans or drugs in the truck.
An X-ray scan showed people in the cargo area. Officers found a false wall creating a hidden space with boards screwed shut. They removed the boards and found 40 people inside, the complaint said.
If convicted, Gamboa could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Those charged with illegal reentry could face up to 20 years, officials said.
The case was investigated by ICE-HSI San Antonio, with help from Border Patrol and ICE-HSI Houston. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tory Sailer is prosecuting.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the case is part of Operation Take Back America, a program to fight illegal immigration and organized crime.
“The complaint is just an accusation,” the office said. “A defendant is innocent until proven guilty in court.”
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