KINNEY COUNTY, Texas – The Texas Department of Public Safety has found 17 migrants hiding in a fake Lowe’s home improvement store truck. A video from the Texas Department of Public Safety shows the moment the 13 men and 4 women were found.

DPS South calls it a “cloned truck” because it looks like a commercial vehicle on the outside, but has modifications inside to transport and conceal people.

“When the officer made contact with the driver, he noticed that there were some discrepancies between the driver and the truck itself,” said Lt. Christopher Olivarez. “Afterward, a search of the truck revealed that there was an incorrect compartment in the cargo area of ​​the truck. … When the officer was able to inspect that compartment, he found that there was no air circulation.”

No one was killed in this incident, but several people had to be treated for dehydration.

“I can tell you with certainty that the police officer prevented a mass smuggling of victims,” ​​Olivarez said.

Olivarez mentioned that police are doing their best to patrol the highways and prevent an incident like the one in San Antonio in 2022, when 53 migrants died in the back of a trailer.

The driver was 28-year-old Megel Patterson of Jackson, Mississippi. Patterson is accused of human smuggling with serious bodily harm.

This is also not the first time that a “cloned vehicle” has been used in a human smuggling operation. In fact, it was not even the only incident in August 2024.

“(On August 12) we helped the U.S. Border Patrol in Carrizo Springs with a Safelite truck that was also cloned,” Olivarez said. “It’s very dangerous when someone is involved in human smuggling. Not only are there consequences on the criminal side, but if someone dies while smuggling, there are life-long consequences, a prison sentence.”

The people found on Friday, August 30, were handed over to the U.S. Border Patrol, according to Olivarez.