Night club worker jailed for immigrant smuggling


Friday, October 23, 2009 at 5:24 p.m.

A night club worker from Houston is behind bars in the Rio Grande Valley after he allegedly tried to smuggle two immigrants through a Border Patrol checkpoint.

U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Luis Carlos Murillo under immigrant smuggling charges at the Sarita Checkpoint on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old Houston man drove through in white Chevrolet Surbarban by himself.

A K-9 officer allegedly alerted agents to the presence of something in the rear of the SUV.

Murillo was allegedly breathing heavy and allegedly tried to lure Border Patrol agents away from the rear of the SUV by telling them he worked at night club in Houston and could get them in for free.

Border Patrol agents allegedly found two immigrants hiding under a blanket in the rear of his SUV.

The Houston man then told agents he owed money to the immigrant’s father and was taking them to Houston to pay off his debt.

Murillo said his family had been threatened and would be harmed if he didn’t deliver the two immigrants.

Court records show that Murillo had previously been caught smuggling a child at the Sarita Checkpoint back in January.

The Houston man remains in custody here in the Valley where he’s expected to appear before U.S. Magistrate Court Judge Felix Recio in Brownsville on Monday.

http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=367128