WATCH: Smuggler Leaves His Human Cargo Trapped Inside Secret Compartment on Texas Highway

Smuggler ethics were caught on camera by Texas law enforcement officers – and the images are stunning. In this video, below, a callous smuggler abandons his human cargo, sealed beneath the floorboards of a flatbed rig.

Officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety on April 12 tried to stop a truck that was towing a flatbed trailer on IH-35. The flatbed driver tried to evade, and jumped his rig across the median. The driver soon stopped, and bailed from his cabin. He didn’t shout to the officers that they might not immediately notice the people who were locked inside a hidden, hot compartment. Instead, he took off running.

The officers heard banging and shouts for help. The shouts came from beneath the floorboards. The agents used a crowbar to dislodge the boards. They found 23 people sealed inside the dark and airless chamber that could have become their coffin. They came from Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala.

One was treated for dehydration, and was transported to a local hospital. All 23 were referred to the US Border Patrol. Their whereabouts after that are not known.