LAREDO, TX (KGNS) - CBP officials in Laredo are already preparing for the increase in travelers expected for Holy Week.

In an effort to facilitate the increase in traffic, officials will be opening additional lanes at the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge, also known as bridge two.

Customs and Border Protection officials say they will have additional officers on hand to help process vehicles during the Easter holiday.

Rick Pauza with CBP said officials anticipate 13,000 travelers a day during Holy Week.

“Usually we anticipate probably about 25 percent increase in traffic, it’s kind of like Christmas or the summer vacation period,” said Pauza. “We do experience an increase in traffic so we need to be ready for that so we implement these facilitation measures and the public can also take measures as well by you know by planning more time in their trip and looking at the wait times and choosing the bridge that has the least amount of wait time.”

Pauza adds that if you are not sure what items you can bring into the U.S. check the CBP’s “Know Before You Go” list.

They also have a permit processing office at the Outlet Shoppes of Laredo.

They will be setting up across from Rack Room Shoes from now until March. 30, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. on Sundays.

LAREDO, Tx. (KGNS) - The employment of a Laredo band director will be one of the subjects up for discussion during UISD’s upcoming board meeting.

United ISD will hold its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2024.

On the agenda is possible action to finalize the termination of an assistant band director’s contract and the proposed non-renewal of a nurse’s contract.

The board will also discuss the duties and responsibilities of the administrators in charge and consult with legal counsel regarding the superintendent vacancy.

The meeting gets underway at 6 p.m. at the UISD Student Activity Complex off Highway 59.

LAREDO, TX (KGNS) - Authorities need your help locating a man wanted for murder in Garland, Texas who is believed to be in the Laredo area.

Yordy Martinez, 21 is a person of interest in the murder of Arturo Pena of Mesquite, Texas.

According to a news release issued by the Garland Police Department, the murder was reported on Aug. 29, 2023, just after 10 a.m. at the 340 block of West Oates Road in Garland, Texas.

The victim was identified as 21-year-old Arturo Pena of Mesquite, Texas.

According to the report, Pena had been reported missing to the Dallas Police on Aug. 27, 2023, and was found deceased inside a vehicle with a gunshot wound.

Garland Detectives identified Yordy Martinez as one of the suspects connected to the murder.

If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Yordy Martinez contact the Garland Police Department at 972-485-4840.

You can also submit an anonymous tip to Garland Crime Stoppers at www.garlandcrimestoppers.org

You may qualify for a reward of $5,000 for any information that leads to an arrest.

LAREDO, TX. (KGNS) - U.S Customs and Border Protection officers arrest two men wanted for sex-related offenses involving children.

The first incident happened last Thursday at the Juarez- Lincoln Bridge when a commercial vehicle was referred to secondary inspection.

A CBP officer ran a background check on the driver of the vehicle, identified as Antonio de Jesus Rivera Rodriguez, 35.

Agents discovered that Rivera Rodriguez had a warrant for child exploitation out of Monterrey, Mexico.

He was turned over to Mexican authorities.

The next incident happened on Friday, at the same bridge.

Officers referred Guillermo Ocampo Jr, 39, to secondary inspection and discovered that he had an outstanding warrant for aggravated sexual assault of a child out of Bell County.

He was turned over to the Webb County Jail.

LAREDO, Tx. (KGNS) - Three people are injured following a two-vehicle collision in south Laredo.

The crash happened on Monday morning at around 9 a.m. on the southbound lanes of Highway 83 and Mangana Hein.

According to the Laredo Fire Department, one man and two women were taken to Laredo Medical Center with multiple injuries.

Officials say the man and one of the women was in stable condition; meanwhile, the other woman was in serious but stable condition.

The crash has prompted the closure of Cuatro Vientos Road and Mangana Hein heading westbound.

Laredo Police are urging motorists to drive with caution in the area.

LAREDO, TX. (KGNS) - A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection could spend up to 40 years in prison for smuggling undocumented people into the country and accepting bribes to allow the importation of cocaine.

Emanuel Isac Celedon, 36, of Laredo pleaded guilty to four counts of bringing in an undocumented person into the U.S. through the Lincoln Juarez Bridge.

Celedon also admitted to bribery and attempted importation of cocaine into U.S. from Mexico.

According to court documents, between the months of Sept. and Nov. 2023, Celedon allowed conspirators to enter without inspection or documentation of passengers.

Court documents say this happened on at least nine separate occasions.

Authorities also discovered that during at least two of these incidents, Celedon falsified information into a CBP database in order to avoid sending the driver to mandatory inspection.

In a separate case, Celedon also agreed to smuggle cocaine from Mexico through his duty lane on two occasions during Oct. 2023.

Celedon was paid a total of $6,000 after the vehicles safely crossed the U.S.

U.S. District Judges Diana Saldana and Marina Garcia Marmolejo will impose sentencing at later dates on the smuggling and bribery cases, respectively.

Celedon faces up to 10 years on two counts and 15 years on the other two counts in the smuggling case as well as another 15 years for bribery and 40 years for the drug charges.

He also faces hundreds of thousands in fines.

DALLAS-FT. WORTH, TX. (KGNS) - Dak Prescott has found himself on the other side of a lawsuit less than a week after filing his own.

A woman is suing the Dallas Cowboys Quarterback for sexual assault.

She claims he raped her in an SUV back in 20-17 as the pair were traveling to a strip club.

That lawsuit comes just days after he sued her for extortion.

His complaint alleges she tried to get him to pay her one hundred million dollars in exchange for not reporting the alleged assault.

She reported it to the police Tuesday, the day after he filed his lawsuit.