Man arrested in Eddy County for alleged human trafficking after running border checkpoint

A man was arrested in Eddy County for allegedly smuggling people across the U.S.-Mexico border Friday after he ran a checkpoint in Texas.

Hector Castro, 44, was arrested, police said, after an investigation found he allegedly trafficked people. Police did not disclose the exact criminal charge against Castro.

Deputies with the Eddy County Sheriff's Office received a description of the vehicle, a white sports utility vehicle, driving through the U.S. Border Patrol Checkpoint at about 8:47 a.m., Dec. 2, police said.

The vehicle was found on U.S. Highway 62/180, also known as National Parks Highway, near New Mexico's border with Texas near Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

The SUV was stopped, police said, due to multiple traffic violations and the investigation found Castro was trafficking multiple individuals, police said.

U.S. Border Patrol agents joined the investigation and took Castro, and all involved in the incident into custody.

It was initially unclear where Castro was from, how many people he was accused of smuggling or where they came from originally.

The investigation was ongoing.

Stay with the Carlsbad Current-Argus for updates on this story.

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, [email protected] or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Man arrested in Eddy County for alleged human trafficking