Two men were arrested Friday after a DPS trooper found four illegal border crossers in their van on Interstate Highway 20.
According to court documents, the trooper was on patrol when he spotted a van traveling with an unauthorized temporary tag and pulled it over.
The trooper noticed four people in the cargo area of the van who smelled foul and were wearing worn clothes that were excessively dirty and sweat-soaked, the report stated. None of the passengers would make eye contact with him, but they later confirmed they’d been hiking for a week before being picked up in Alpine.
Jose Olivas, 57, admitted he was getting paid $1,500 for driving the four to Odessa and Fermin Gonzales, 64, admitted he was with the group when they crossed into the U.S. from Presidio, the report stated.
Both men were arrested on suspicion of three counts of smuggling of person and one count of smuggling of persons under 18 because one of the border crossers was 14.
Both remain in the Ector County jail on surety bonds totaling $100,000.
