Maryland Trucker Caught Smuggling 13 Migrants in Flatbed Trailer

Albuquerque –

Federal prosecutors have charged a Maryland man after Border Patrol agents discovered 13 undocumented individuals hidden in a tractor-trailer during a late-night stop near Deming.

According to court documents, on June 25, 2025, Border Patrol agents conducting surveillance on Interstate 10 near Deming, New Mexico, spotted a suspicious tractor-trailer hauling an empty flatbed—a tactic frequently used by Transnational Criminal Organizations to smuggle contraband and undocumented individuals into the United States. The agents followed the vehicle as it took an irregular route commonly used to evade a Border Patrol checkpoint.

Agents stopped the vehicle on New Mexico State Road 26 and discovered 13 individuals hidden in compartments within the trailer and cab. None of them possessed legal immigration documents, and all admitted to entering the U.S. illegally.

CBP agents arrested the driver, Jarol Wilberto Arroyo-Cerin, 40, a U.S. citizen, who admitted to repeatedly transporting undocumented individuals for money and directing them to hide under the flatbed. The group he smuggled included nationals from Guatemala, Ecuador, and Mexico, among them was an unaccompanied minor. Arroyo-Cerin openly admitted that he was en-route to Albuquerque to smuggle the undocumented aliens when agents apprehended him. He also admitted that he had successfully carried out about five previous smuggling trips to Albuquerque, each time transporting six undocumented aliens.

Arroyo-Cerin is charged with conspiracy to illegally bring, transport, hide, or encourage unauthorized immigrants to enter or stay in the United States. He will remain in custody until his trial, which has not yet been scheduled. If convicted, Arroyo-Cerin faces up to 10 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar of the U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector made the announcement on July 3rd.

The U.S. Border Patrol investigated this case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case as part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

You can read the criminal complaint here: https://justice.gov/usao-nm/media/1406876/dl?inline