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5 illegal immigrants, meth found in pickup truck during traffic stop in Tye


Efren Morales
Efren Morales
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Tye police made both a drug bust and an immigration bust during a single traffic stop.

About 11 p.m. on Thursday, police stopped a Ford pickup on FM 707.

As the police officer approached the vehicle, he noticed four males and one female in the bed of the truck covered with blankets. All five of them turned out to be illegal immigrants, according to police.

There were three people in the cab -- the driver, a female passenger and a juvenile.

A K-9 officer searched the truck and alerted multiple times, indicating the presence of drugs.

Police then found 40.21 grams of methamphetamine and 15 meth pipes.

All five illegal immigrants were turned over to the United States Border Patrol.

Police say the female had to be treated for injuries she suffered while crossing the border.

The driver of the vehicle, Efren Morales, 35, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, was charged with manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance, with a $35,000 bond listed for the charge, but is also being held by the United States Border Patrol for an immigration violation.

The vehicle's passenger, Silvia Mireya Cabeza de Baca, 36, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, received the same charge, bond and hold as Morales.

The Tye Police Department also said that both Morales and Cabeza de Baca were also charged with child endangerment, but Taylor County Jail records do not list either of them as being charged with child endangerment.

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