A human smuggling suspect was arrested with a previously deported Guatemalan on Interstate 75 in Sumter County.
German Benjamin Rodriguez Quetchel, 25, of Cape Coral, was driving a red 2010 Ford Fusion with a Florida license plate on Monday morning southbound on I-75 near Bushnell, according to an arrest report from the Florida Highway Patrol. The vehicle was in the left lane obstructing traffic and the driver failed to move over to the right lane for other motorists.
Quetchel, who had a temporary Florida driver’s license, said he and his passenger were coming from Nebraska and were “friends.” Quetchel has a pending court hearing in 2025 with regard to his immigration status in the United States. A suspicious debt card was found in his wallet.
The passenger provided the trooper with an identification card from Guatemala and indicated he did not have a passport. The trooper checked with Border Patrol and learned that the passenger had previously been deported in 2021.
Quetchel was arrested on a charge of human smuggling and booked at the Sumter County Detention Center. Bond was set at $10,000. His vehicle was towed from the scene. His passenger, who was not named in the report, was turned over to Border Patrol.