A man has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for trying to smuggle 89 undocumented immigrants into Texas using an unventilated semitrailer.
The Laredo Morning Times reported Hector Bernal Jr. was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty in June to one count of attempting to transport undocumented immigrants for financial gain.
Authorities said he was stopped at a Border Patrol checkpoint in March and claimed to be hauling water heaters, but a K-9 alerted agents that there were people onboard. They said 71 people from Mexico, 15 from Ecuador and three from the Dominican Republic were discovered.
Bernal later admitted he was given $700 to drive the truck. He will be placed on a three-year term of supervised release following his sentence.
