New evidence emerged on Wednesday that purported to tie the “Maryland man” deported by the Trump administration to a gang of human traffickers, blowing a hole in the narrative that the father of two was a peaceful illegal immigrant undeserving of his new life in El Salvador’s mega-prison.

Last week the Tennessee Star published a groundbreaking report revealing that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 26, was present during a 2022 traffic stop in which state police suspected him of carrying seven other individuals in an SUV from Texas to Maryland and other parts of the country. Incredibly, agents with the FBI instructed the Tennessee officers to let Garcia and the other individuals leave the scene.

Now, it appears that the vehicle pulled over during the stop was previously tied to a human smuggling ring.

Abrego Garcia was driving the black 2001 Chevrolet Suburban which had been catalogued by a Baltimore investigatory team within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as belonging to a suspect part of a human trafficking ring that agents were targeting, according to documents reviewed by Just The News.

“Vehicle is used by HSI Baltimore target in human smuggling/trafficking operation. Vehicle makes trips to southern border to pick up non-citizens,” the record reads. The memo states that the investigators should be contacted if the vehicle is located.

Jose Ramon Hernandez Reyes, the owner of the vehicle whom Abrego Gracia told officers he was working for at the time, has previously pleaded guilty to charges of smuggling illegal immigrants into the U.S., according to court documents reviewed by the outlet.

Hernandez Reyes, also in the U.S. illegally, was convicted in 2020 and sentenced to 18 months. He received a “deport” order from DHS in March of 2021 as his sentence was nearing its end.

A source with DHS confirmed to the outlet that the Hernandez Reyes who was sentenced and the man referenced by Abrego Garcia are one and the same, though reporters could not verify if Abrego Garcia indeed worked for him as he claimed.

During the traffic stop, some of the SUV’s occupants, including individuals from Mexico, El Salvador, and Honduras, were found to have been previously deported from the U.S. and had illegally returned, Justice Department officials stated. Abrego Garcia was stopped for driving erratically and fined for having an expired driver’s license.

Officers wrote in their report that they suspected the passengers were being smuggled because there was no luggage in the vehicle.

Abrego Garcia was previously arrested with a group of men in 2019 when they “freely admitted to being citizens and nationals of El Salvador by birth and that they were present in the United States illegally,” court records released by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi state. Prince George’s County has previously confirmed that Abrego Garcia is a member of the violent MS-13 gang, a conclusion upheld by two courts.

U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen was the first lawmaker to visit Abrego Garcia in El Salvador’s mega-prison, where he was sent after being picked up by immigration authorities in March. Attention around his case has exploded after left-wing advocates and mainstream media outlets accused the administration of defying a judge’s order and deporting him anyway. A group of U.S. House Democrats landed in El Salvador on Sunday, intent on observing the conditions where Abrego Garcia is being held.