The 33-year-old suspect was driving a van “modified to carry coffins” on Oct. 26 when he reached a border checkpoint in southern Texas. The officers saw the coffin and asked the man what he was carrying, to which he replied that he was carrying “a dead man and a deceased Marine”.
“The coffin was in poor condition and the American flag was taped to it,” the court said. Upon further investigation, the officers discovered two Mexican men, both illegal in the US, hiding in the coffin. They both admitted to crossing the Rio Grande River to the US and then paying a smuggler to take them to the Texas city of San Antonio.
The smuggler faces up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.