A San Antonio, Texas man was sentenced in a federal court in Del Rio recently to 120 months in prison for attempting to smuggle undocumented aliens into the U.S. in his empty tanker trailer.
He was charged with one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas.
According to court documents, on Nov. 18, 2024, Richard Rindeikis, 44, was driving a truck connected to a tanker trailer when he was subjected to inspection at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint near Carrizo Springs. He claimed the tanker was empty and, when he couldn’t locate his driver’s license, was referred to secondary inspection.
Border Patrol agents observed the hatches on top of the tanker trailer were closed and completely secured. When they opened the hatches, they discovered numerous people sitting inside the tanker.
A total of 25 illegal aliens from Ecuador, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico, were removed and Rindeikis was placed under arrest. He was indicted for two counts and pleaded guilty to count one on Feb. 5, 2025.
“This district has seen far too many instances of human smuggling like this one end in tragedy. If not for the excellent work by the U.S. Border Patrol in this case, we may have seen another,” said U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas.
