An early Friday smuggling run in Maverick County ended with one driver in handcuffs and nine passengers in federal custody, after state troopers and U.S. Border Patrol agents teamed up to stop the vehicle. The nine people, from Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala, were detained, and the driver was arrested on human smuggling charges. Under a Texas law signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, a conviction for smuggling of persons now comes with a mandatory minimum 10-year prison sentence.
Pursuit in Maverick County 🚨
— Governor Abbott Press Office (@govabbottpress) July 10, 2026
@TxDPS & U.S. Border Patrol stopped a smuggling attempt, apprehending 9 individuals from Mexico, Colombia & Guatemala.
The driver faces felony human smuggling charges, & under laws signed by Gov. Abbott, a 10-year mandatory minimum if convicted. https://x.com/i/status/2075388657565909152
The governor’s press office put out video and a brief rundown of the pursuit on X at 1:16:29 a.m. UTC on July 10, 2026, saying Texas DPS troopers worked with U.S. Border Patrol to bring the smuggling attempt to a halt. According to that post, the nine people were taken into custody and the driver was arrested on felony human smuggling charges; the X post is the first public account of the incident. Governor Abbott Press Office shared the update on X.
Texas prosecutors have already started using the tougher state penalties that apply in cases like this. In a July 2025 case, the Texas Department of Public Safety reported that a smuggler received a 10-year sentence under the enhanced statute, a real-world example of the mandatory minimum in action. Texas DPS reported that sentence.
What the Law Means for the Driver
SB 4 amended Texas Penal Code Section 20.05 and created a 10-year floor for smuggling of persons in many situations, with only narrow exceptions in limited circumstances. The bill text spells out aggravating factors that can lift the classification of the offense, along with procedures prosecutors must follow if they seek reductions. The full statutory language is available on LegiScan.
Border Enforcement in Maverick County
Maverick County has been a regular backdrop for interdictions and brush operations in which troopers and National Guard units assist Border Patrol under Operation Lone Star. State postings and agency materials point to a steady stream of traffic-stop busts and brush searches in the Del Rio sector that officials highlight as part of stepped-up patrols. Texas DPS maintains an account of those actions.
Local outlets have chronicled similar stops over and over. Hoodline’s February story about an Eagle Pass traffic stop that turned up a hidden passenger is one recent example of the pattern. Eagle Pass trunk surprise laid out how routine trooper interdictions often turn into criminal cases in Maverick County.
Smuggling cases can also land in federal court. Prosecutors in the Western District of Texas have brought federal charges after pursuits and interdictions in this part of the border, and a federal case tied to a July 2024 pursuit near U.S. 277 in Eagle Pass ended with a multi-year sentence, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Texas detailed that prosecution.
At the time of the governor’s post, that social media message was the main public account of the Maverick County stop, and we did not find a separate DPS or Border Patrol press release describing the same incident. Court filings and formal charging documents will be needed to spell out the exact counts and whether federal prosecutors decide to take on the case as well.
