Texas man thwarted by Border Patrol after trying to transport undocumented immigrants

Texas man thwarted by Border Patrol after trying to transport undocumented immigrants in couch, nailed-shut dresser

By David Boroff
| New York Daily News |
May 21, 2019 | 12:28 PM


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Yabar Ayan Portes-Arevalo was stopped at the Border Patrol checkpoint near Sarita (not pictured). (Getty Images)

A Texas man was slapped with a 21-month prison sentence for attempting to transport undocumented immigrants in pieces of furniture, including a plastic-wrapped dresser that was nailed shut.

Yabar Ayan Portes-Arevalo, who had pleaded guilty to transporting illegal aliens, will serve his nearly two-year sentence in federal prison, the Department of Justice said Monday.

Portes-Arevalo was driving a Ford pick-up truck in December with a couch and dresser in the bed of the truck “wrapped in plastic” when he was stopped at a Border Patrol checkpoint near the Texas town of Sarita.

With the suspect “visibly nervous,” authorities performed an x-ray examination of the vehicle that showed abnormalities inside the furniture.

Border Patrol agents would find three undocumented immigrants hidden in the couch, and three more inside the dresser, which was nailed shut.

It was found during a court hearing that the defendant “endangered the lives” of the undocumented immigrants.

Portes-Arevalo, a Katy resident, may lose his resident status in the U.S., according to federal authorities.

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