DPS Makes Multiple Arrests During Human Smuggling Traffic Stop in Hidalgo County (South Texas Region)

October 2, 2024

WESLACO – As part of Operation Lone Star, the Texas Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Brush Team arrested multiple people—including a man wanted for homicide—following a vehicle pursuit involving human smugglers in Hidalgo County.

On Oct. 1, 2024, just after 5 p.m., a DPS Trooper attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a black Chevrolet Tahoe on Leeve Road and Military Road in Mission. The driver refused to stop, and a vehicle pursuit ensued. The pursuit ended on FM 494. Troopers discovered three illegal immigrants and one American citizen inside the vehicle who were smuggled into the United States.

The driver, Nathan Iracheta, 17, of Pharr, was arrested for smuggling of persons and evading arrest. The American citizen being smuggled back into the United States, Eliezer Morales, 30, of McAllen, was wanted by the McAllen Police Department for homicide. Erik Gonzalez Torres, 19, from Mexico, was arrested for smuggling of persons after it was determined that he guided their group across the Rio Grande. All three were transported to the Hidalgo County Jail.

The two other illegal immigrants found inside the vehicle, including a Honduran man previously deported for an aggravated felony, were referred to Border Patrol.

### (DPS - South Texas Region)