A traffic stop in Val Verde County on Saturday turned into a human-smuggling bust when a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper found a 6-year-old boy riding unrestrained in the back seat and the child’s mother concealed in the trunk, according to Gov. Greg Abbott.
The driver, described by Abbott as a human smuggler from Laredo, was arrested and faces felony smuggling charges tied to Operation Lone Star. State officials say encounters like this show how dangerous smuggling methods keep turning up on local roads.
Operation Lone Star never stops. A DPS trooper stopped a vehicle in Val Verde County and found a 6-year-old boy unrestrained in the back seat and the boy’s mother hidden in the trunk. The driver is a human smuggler from Laredo and was arrested and faces felony smuggling charges. https://x.com/i/status/2075733189847388335
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_Tx) July 11, 2026
In a post titled “Operation Lone Star never stops,” Greg Abbott said the DPS trooper’s stop in Val Verde County led to the discovery of the unrestrained child and the child’s mother hidden in the trunk. Abbott added that the driver was arrested on felony smuggling charges. Abbott’s post is the primary public account of the stop at this time.
The stop tracks with the pattern of roadside interdictions carried out under Operation Lone Star, the state border-security initiative that deploys troopers, National Guard units and aviation assets to intercept smugglers, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. DPS maintains an online hub that highlights traffic-stop interdictions and posts video summaries of recent busts in Val Verde County and neighboring areas, and state officials point to those stops as evidence the program is intercepting people-smuggling runs on local roadways.
Charges and legal exposure
Abbott said the driver faces felony smuggling charges in connection with the stop. Under state law, smuggling of persons (Tex. Penal Code Sec. 20.05) is generally a third-degree felony but is elevated to a second-degree felony if the smuggled person is a child under 18. It can rise to a first-degree felony if the offense results in serious bodily injury or sexual assault, according to the Texas Penal Code.
Local context
Val Verde County, where Del Rio is the region’s population center, has figured in multiple recent Operation Lone Star actions. The state previously operated a Del Rio booking facility that closed earlier this year, changing how arrests and processing are handled locally, according to Texas Public Radio. The episode highlights both the safety risks troopers say they face on border roads and the logistical pressures counties feel when the state ramps up interdiction activity.
