Border Patrol agents stopped 10 sex offenders, a fugitive wanted for murder, a slew of deadly drugs, and other alleged crime suspects from illegally crossing the U.S.–Mexico border, the head of the federal law enforcement agency confirmed.
Raul Ortiz, the 25th chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, said on Twitter that he’s “extremely proud” as he listed off accomplishments border agents had accomplished over a 3-day period.
One of the sex predators was identified as Salvador Montecillo-Rufino, a 57-year-old Mexican national who was sentenced to 17 months in prison after being convicted of sexual assault in Washington in 1998.
The second illegal alien was identified as Wilfredo Pineda, a 31-year-old Salvadoran national who was convicted of statutory rape in South Dakota in 2012. He was sentenced to one year in prison.
All three offenders were taken into custody between May 24 and May 27.
On May 24, RGV agents also arrested an MS-13 gang member traveling from El Salvador. He had an extensive criminal record and was previously deported, according to the CBP. The individual was sentenced in 2009 to 99 months combined confinement in Atlanta for “unlawful transportation of firearms and racketeering activity-murder/kidnapping.”
Besides arresting a number of sex offenders, gang members, an “assassination suspect,” a fugitive wanted for murder, and encountering 18 large groups of illegal immigrants totaling a massive 2,446 people, border agents also rescued nearly two dozen migrants from danger, Ortiz said.
The chief also said that agents confiscated 13 pounds of methamphetamine, 26 pounds of heroin, and 131 pounds of fentanyl over the same 3-day period.
Fentanyl, which is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine, caused more than 71,000 deaths last year, a 23 percent jump from 2020, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data.
On May 25, 119.5 pounds of cocaine was found within the tires of a 2007 Volvo tractor-trailer manifesting a shipment of lead pipe arriving from Mexico. One day later, agents discovered another 80.33 pounds of cocaine within the tires of a 2001 Sterling tractor trailer manifesting a shipment of wood charcoal arriving from Mexico.
“This seizure demonstrates how the officers’ determination, utilization of technology, and canines led to the discovery of these hard narcotics,” said Alberto Flores, the port of entry director of Laredo, Colombia. “I commend the officers for their keen observational skills and interviewing techniques which played a key role in both discoveries.”
The April numbers show a continued increase in illegal crossings for each month this year. In total, Border Patrol has apprehended more than 728,000 illegal aliens along the southern border since January.
