Texas DPS: Duo tried smuggling 26 migrants in tanker trailer

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Nathan Vantrell Smith.

Mario Deandre Ringo.

Pictured are migrants discovered inside a tanker trailer with no means of escape, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Two men attempted to transport 26 migrants inside a tanker trailer with no means of escape, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Mario Deandre Ringo, 36, was charged with one count of smuggling of persons with likelihood of serious bodily injury or death. He also had an active warrant for assault out of Bexar County.

Nathan Vantrell Smith, 32, was charged with 26 counts of smuggling of persons with likelihood of serious bodily injury or death.

On Aug. 24, Texas DPS Criminal Investigations Division special agents working Operation Lone Star responded to a report of people being loaded into a tanker trailer. Special agents and troopers responded and encountered two men who were identified as Smith and Ringo.

DPS said they were standing between a Kenworth tractor towing a tanker trailer and a black BMW passenger vehicle. The tractor and tanker had a logo displaying "UVALDE CONCRETE LLC," according to court documents.

A search of the tanker trailer resulted in the apprehension of 26 migrants. DPS said the hatches to the top of the tanker were closed, leaving the migrants with no means to escape, states the arrest affidavit.

The migrants had limited water and inadequate ventilation. In addition, multiple people were sweating profusely, according to DPS. U.S. Border Patrol agents arrived to take custody of the migrants.