Agents arrest 7 in separate incidents in S. Arizona over weekend

Posted: 10/03/2011
Last Updated: 2 hours and 51 minutes ago
By: Deborah Stocks

TUCSON, AZ - Federal officials say Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents arrested seven individuals with extensive criminal histories over the weekend.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, the arrests included four admitted gang members and sex offenders, all in the country illegally.

Officials said that Friday night agents arrested a 20-year-old Mexican male for illegally entering the U.S. who admitted he's an active member of the MS-13 gang.

On Saturday, agents from the Nogales Station arrested two men, one with a felony warrant out of Washington State and another with felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance. Both men admitted to being active members of the Sureño gang and both had prior removals.

On the same day a 35-year-old Guatemalan man was taken into custody by Naco Station agents and records checks revealed he was convicted for a sexual offense against a minor in Maryland in 2008. He also had a prior removal from Phoenix this year.

Also on Saturday Casa Grande Station agents arrested two men for illegally entering the U.S. A records check showed both were convicted sex offenders. Both men also had prior removals.

On Sunday, Naco Station agents apprehended a 27-year-old Mexican male for entering the U.S. illegally and while checking his fingerprints agents learned the suspect was a convicted, aggravated felon. He also admitted to being a member of the Saints Gang out of Chicago.

CBP officials credit the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) for helping authorities "access criminal records across the U.S. to rapidly identify criminal aliens so they can be brought to an appropriate law enforcement resolution."

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