A human smuggler was nabbed in Sumter County with four illegal immigrants.
A Florida Highway Patrol trooper pulled over a 2014 Toyota sedan at about noon Thursday at Mile Marker 313 near Bushnell because the vehicle had an illegal window tint. The car had a Louisiana temporary tag which had been altered.
The driver was identified as 24-year-old Mario Antonio Padilla-Aguilar of New Orleans who had a Honduras identification card, but no driver’s license.
The trooper spotted four “nervous” passengers in the car with scarring on their arms. The trooper, previously deployed to Texas, recognized obvious signs of human trafficking and following minor questioning determined that the two males from Guatemala and the two females from Mexico had been picked up in Texas and Louisiana.
It was determined that the four passengers had paid for transit to Florida with additional payment required once they arrived at their destination.
Following the roadside investigation, the four passengers were transferred to the U.S. Border Patrol.
Padilla-Aguilar was arrested on charges of no valid driver license, no vehicle registration, altered temporary tag and four counts of human trafficking.
He was booked on $200,500 bond at the Sumter County Detention Center.
