Driver of tractor trailer carrying multiple noncitizens charged with human smuggling

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – A Dallas man, arrested Thursday in San Antonio, faces federal criminal charges related to his alleged involvement in smuggling a large group of undocumented noncitizens.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is investigating the case with the assistance of the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD).

Aron Bernard Griffin, 49, was arrested without incident. On Friday, he appeared before a U.S. federal court judge who charged him with smuggling undocumented noncitizens.

According to court documents, several concerned community members called 911 to report multiple individuals inside the back of a tractor trailer Griffin was driving.

The tractor trailer pulled over at a gas station on Interstate Highway 10 East in San Antonio. Forty-one undocumented noncitizens were found at the scene and were detained by HSI special agents. Griffin admitted to agents he had made an agreement with another person to get paid for picking up the individuals in Laredo and transport them to San Antonio.

If convicted, Griffin faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daphne Newaz, Western District of Texas, is prosecuting the case.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

HSI is a directorate and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 7,100 special agents assigned to 220 cities throughout the United States, and 80 overseas locations in 53 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.