Southwest
Texas troopers catch smuggler who allegedly carried 5-year-old girl across border
Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers arrested a man near the border in Del Rio, Texas, on Friday for his alleged involvement in smuggling a 5-year-old girl into the U.S. from Mexico.
Texas DPS said a trooper stopped a Dodge pickup truck in Del Rio after receiving information that a man was captured by border surveillance carrying a child across the Rio Grande.
Lt. Chris Olivarez, a spokesperson for Texas DPS, told Fox News that the 5-year-old girl who was carried across the border was loaded into another smuggler’s vehicle and driven to a hotel.
Troopers kept an eye on the pickup truck until they eventually pulled the truck over and conducted a traffic stop.
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A 5-year-old girl was seen being carried across the U.S.-Mexico border near Texas, before she was loaded into a truck and driven away by another smuggler, according to Texas DPS. (Texas DPS)
During the stop, troopers learned the 5-year-old girl was from Mexico and had just been smuggled into the U.S. The Trooper also matched the image of the girl in surveillance footage to the girl in the pickup truck.
While asking the girl questions in Spanish, he pointed out the youngster’s bow, which was also seen in the recorded footage.
The girl’s mother, Dolores Lopez, was also in the truck at the time of the traffic stop.
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Roman Ibarra Rojo of Mexico was arrested for his alleged involvement in smuggling a 5-year-old across the border. (Texas DPS)
Texas DPS said the mother is a temporary resident of North Carolina and is originally from Mexico.
Lopez told troopers she located a smuggling organization on the internet and agreed to have her daughter smuggled into the U.S. for $8,000.
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A 5-year-old girl was smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico after her mother allegedly paid $8,000 to a group she found online. (Texas DPS)
Troopers ultimately arrested the smuggler, who was identified as Roman Ibarra Rojo from Mexico. Rojo was charged with smuggling a person younger than 18 years old.
Texas DPS said Rojo confessed that he was going to be paid $1,000 to smuggle the 5-year-old girl into the U.S.
Olivarez said Rojo was previously arrested in 2022 for smuggling.
Lopez and her daughter were referred to the U.S. Border Patrol with the recommendation of charging the mother with endangering her child. It will be up to the district attorney to decide whether to prosecute the mother.
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A former Riverside County man was found guilty of sex trafficking a female victim and forcing her to engage in commercial sex acts along L.A.’s notorious Figueroa Corridor.
Elias Abdul Shabazz, 34, formerly of Perris, was found guilty by a jury following a five-day trial, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Prosecutors said Shabazz had led the victim to believe they were in a romantic relationship before he turned physically and sexually violent. He began demanding that the victim engage in commercial sex acts from May to October of 2021, court documents said.
He carried a handgun with him and, on occasion, was accused of using it to pistol-whip the victim. He also fired the gun at her feet while threatening to kill her, prosecutors said.
At trial, the victim said Shabazz demanded that she meet a daily quota of commercial sex proceeds and that she was terrified of the consequences of not meeting that quota.
She testified that Shabazz compelled her to work in the notorious Figueroa Corridor in South L.A., a dangerous area known for human trafficking and prostitution.
Shabazz had confiscated her identification card, Social Security card and birth certificate. He constantly monitored her cell phone to stop her from communicating with any friends or family.
“He also introduced her to addictive narcotics and controlled every aspect of her life, including when she ate, slept and showered,” prosecutors said.
In May 2025, Shabazz was arrested and has remained in federal custody. His last known address at the time was in Washington, D.C.
On June 26, 2026, Shabazz was found guilty of one count of coercing or enticing interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 6, where he faces 15 years to life in prison.
“Sex trafficking matters rank among the most tragic cases our office prosecutes,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. “This defendant will now face many years in a federal prison cell for his sick, disgusting, and disturbing behavior.”
“Elias Shabazz preyed on a vulnerable victim using physical and sexual violence and cruel psychological coercion to compel commercial sex acts for his own profit,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “There is no place for this type of conduct in civilized society. We deeply respect the victim’s courage to face her trafficker in court. The Criminal Division will continue to bring these cases and try them.”
Anyone with information about human trafficking can report tips to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888
The star-studded feel-good giveback event of the summer has returned. KTLA 5 is teaming up once again with Project Angel Food for the annual “Lead with Love: Going the Distance” telethon to raise critical funds for medically tailored meals delivered to people living with serious illnesses throughout Los Angeles County. The seventh annual telethon airs […]
A woman was hospitalized with serious injuries after she was violently attacked by a robber in downtown Long Beach. On June 18, Jennifer Silva, 34, was attending a World Cup watch party at a Hooters restaurant at 90 Aquarium Way. After the game ended, she left the restaurant just before 11 p.m. As she walked […]
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