Border Patrol agents arrested six Brazillian nationals after finding them hiding in the cabin of a tractor-trailer at an immigration checkpoint.

Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Highway 83 immigration checkpoint became suspicious of the driver of an 18-wheeler during questioning. The agents referred the driver, a U.S. citizen to a secondary inspection station for a more extensive interview and search, according to information obtained by Breitbart Texas from Laredo Sector officials.

During the secondary inspection, the agents found six illegal immigrants hiding in the cabin area of the truck, officials stated. Further questioning revealed that all six migrants came to the U.S. from Brazil.

“The criminal element has no regard for the safety of our country. These people could easily have been terrorists entering to cause harm,” Laredo Sector Assistant Chief Patrol Agent Gabriel Acosta said in a written statement. “The United States Border Patrol is committed to disrupting and dismantling these organizations.”

Agents turned the six Brazillian nationals over to Homeland Security Investigations for further investigation.

Border Patrol officials said callous human smugglers frequently put illegal immigrants in dangerous situations by locking them in the back of trailers, box trucks, and the trunks of cars. Officials in the Rio Grande Valley and Laredo Sectors rolled out Operation Big Rig to attempt to curtail the smuggling of humans in these dangerous and even deadly situations.

Agents arrested the U.S. citizen driver and seized the 2000 Peterbilt Semi-tractor, officials stated.

Elsewhere in the Laredo Sector, agents assigned to the Laredo South Border Patrol station eight Mexican nationals who were attempting to hide in the bed of a pickup truck. The agents arrested the driver, a U.S. citizen after he attempted to flee on foot. The Mexican nationals are expected to be turned over to prosecutors for immigration violations.

“The blatant disregard for human life will not be tolerated,” Chief Acosta said. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to disrupt and dismantle these organizations and prosecute those responsible,”