{"id":6717,"date":"2026-07-08T20:31:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T20:31:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6717"},"modified":"2026-07-08T20:31:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T20:31:34","slug":"gangs-may-be-using-rideshare-apps-to-smuggle-people-into-country-border-patrol-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6717","title":{"rendered":"Gangs may be using rideshare apps to smuggle people into country, Border Patrol says"},"content":{"rendered":"<div> <!-- --> <!-- --><p><span><strong>EL PASO, Texas<\/strong> &#8211; <\/span>Gangs might be using rideshare apps to help smuggle people into the country, according to officials.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6713\">Traffic backup after 18-wheeler hits East Freeway bridge<\/a><\/p> <p>What we know:<\/p> <!-- --><p>Agents with the El Paso sector of the U.S. Border Patrol said the criminal organizations appear to be using legitimate apps to shield themselves from law enforcement. They often use third-party accounts to arrange pickups in secluded locations, remote highways near the border wall or some commercial parking lots.<\/p> <!-- --><div><\/div> <!-- --><div><p>\n    Related\n  <\/p> <div><div><div><div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"$3.7M worth of cocaine seized from cucumber truck at Texas border, according to CBP\" class=\"wp-image-6715\" height=\"387\" src=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3f3ce181e4b98edb8df6a55957558b96-768x387.webp\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3f3ce181e4b98edb8df6a55957558b96-768x387.webp 768w, https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3f3ce181e4b98edb8df6a55957558b96-300x151.webp 300w, https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3f3ce181e4b98edb8df6a55957558b96.webp 932w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div> <noscript>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"$3.7M worth of cocaine seized from cucumber truck at Texas border, according to CBP\" class=\"wp-image-6716\" height=\"387\" src=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f5dbc052c2357316cb7cd0018829ce43.webp\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f5dbc052c2357316cb7cd0018829ce43.webp 768w, https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f5dbc052c2357316cb7cd0018829ce43-300x151.webp 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/noscript><\/div> <span>article<\/span><\/div><\/div> <div><h3>$3.7M worth of cocaine seized from cucumber truck at Texas border, according to CBP<\/h3> <p>CBP officers in South Texas seized over $3.7 million worth of cocaine hidden inside a commercial shipment of cucumbers, triggering a federal criminal investigation.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div> <!-- --><p>What they&#8217;re saying:<\/p> <!-- --><p>&#8220;Cartel criminal smugglers recklessly endanger the lives of rideshare drivers and passengers alike, treating legitimate drivers as disposable tools for their smuggling operations,&#8221; said El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Jesse D. Munoz. &#8220;When these trips are intercepted, drivers face immediate detention and asset forfeiture while federal agents investigate their level of involvement in the smuggling network.&#8221;<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6710\">Teacher-led commission aims to move Texas to head of the class<\/a><\/p> <!-- --><p>What you can do:<\/p> <!-- --><p>Border Patrol said rideshare drivers should watch for passengers wearing heavily soiled clothes, bookings that exceed vehicle occupancy limits or passengers who appear stressed and unaware of their location.<\/p> <!-- --><p>Drivers could be charged with felony charges of alien smuggling and harboring if convicted of participating in the smuggling network, according to Border Patrol.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6705\">23andMe data breach victims to receive $46.75 million payout<\/a><\/p> <!-- --> <!-- --> <!-- --> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gangs might be using rideshare apps to help smuggle people into the country, according to officials.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,14,12,17,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-and-public-safety","category-immigration","category-texas","category-u-s-border-security","category-u-s-border-wall"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Gangs may be using rideshare apps to smuggle people into country, Border Patrol says - Houston Moving Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6717\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gangs may be using rideshare apps to smuggle people into country, Border Patrol says - Houston Moving Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gangs might be using rideshare apps to help smuggle people into the country, according to officials.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6717\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Houston Moving Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-08T20:31:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3f3ce181e4b98edb8df6a55957558b96.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"932\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"470\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=6717#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=6717\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba\"},\"headline\":\"Gangs may be using rideshare apps to smuggle people into country, Border Patrol says\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-08T20:31:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=6717\"},\"wordCount\":277,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=6717#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/fe89a4893a868d91ab81de2e174310a2.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Crime and Public Safety\",\"Immigration\",\"Texas\",\"U.S. Border Security\",\"U.S. Border Wall\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=6717#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=6717\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=6717\",\"name\":\"Gangs may be using rideshare apps to smuggle people into country, Border Patrol says - Houston Moving Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=6717#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=6717#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/fe89a4893a868d91ab81de2e174310a2.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-08T20:31:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=6717#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=6717\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=6717#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/fe89a4893a868d91ab81de2e174310a2.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/fe89a4893a868d91ab81de2e174310a2.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=6717#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Gangs may be using rideshare apps to smuggle people into country, Border Patrol says\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Houston Moving Journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Gangs may be using rideshare apps to smuggle people into country, Border Patrol says - Houston Moving Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6717","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Gangs may be using rideshare apps to smuggle people into country, Border Patrol says - Houston Moving Journal","og_description":"Gangs might be using rideshare apps to help smuggle people into the country, according to officials.","og_url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6717","og_site_name":"Houston Moving Journal","article_published_time":"2026-07-08T20:31:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":932,"height":470,"url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3f3ce181e4b98edb8df6a55957558b96.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6717#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6717"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba"},"headline":"Gangs may be using rideshare apps to smuggle people into country, Border Patrol says","datePublished":"2026-07-08T20:31:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6717"},"wordCount":277,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6717#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/fe89a4893a868d91ab81de2e174310a2.webp","articleSection":["Crime and Public Safety","Immigration","Texas","U.S. Border Security","U.S. Border Wall"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6717#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6717","url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6717","name":"Gangs may be using rideshare apps to smuggle people into country, Border Patrol says - Houston Moving Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6717#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6717#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/fe89a4893a868d91ab81de2e174310a2.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-08T20:31:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6717#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6717"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6717#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/fe89a4893a868d91ab81de2e174310a2.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/fe89a4893a868d91ab81de2e174310a2.webp","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6717#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Gangs may be using rideshare apps to smuggle people into country, Border Patrol says"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/","name":"Houston Moving Journal","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com"],"url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6717\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}