During a routine inspection of a King Air E90 at McAllen Miller International Airport, immigration agents discovered and arrested seven illegal immigrants according to information released by the Air and Marine branch of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The discovery occurred about 11 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 6th.
“This is another example of the excellent work being done by the agents of the McAllen Air and Marine Branch to prevent the smuggling of people and drugs from the Rio Grande Valley into the interior of the United States,” Director of Air Operations William Durham said.
The pilot of the aircraft was a United States citizen, and was released as the investigation continues. The immigrants had hopes of using the King Air to bypass immigration checkpoints and enter further into the interior of the United States.
According to FAA records, The plane is registered to the Platina Investment Corporation of Oklahoma City and a search of the plane’s flight history revealed numerous trips between Wiley Post in Oklahoma City and McAllen and Brownsville near the border.
This is not the first instance of illegal aliens being found and arrested at McAllen airport. In 2013, U.S. border patrol agents carried out a similar arrest. Five immigrants were arrested who were preparing to climb into a chartered plane in order to fly from the Rio Grande Valley to San Antonio.