Border Patrol weekend wrapup

Posted Jun 6, 2011, 3:17 pm

Dylan Smith
TucsonSentinel.com

A summary of Border Patrol activities in the Tucson Sector over the past few days, provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Agents arrested 10 criminals who entered the U.S. illegally, seized nearly 2,000 pounds of marijuana, rescued 7 people and found the remains of 2 others.

Criminal arrests

BP agents arrested what it termed 10 dangerous criminals illegally entering the country in 7 separate incidents over the weekend.

Records checks showed that one of the illegal aliens had a felony conviction for rape and another had an outstanding arrest warrant for sexual assault, the agency said:


It was also discovered through IAFIS and intelligence gathering that eight of the criminals belonged to dangerous street gangs such as Mara Salvatrucha, Sureños and 18th Street. Prosecution is being sought for seven of the 10 criminals. The remaining three will be placed into an appropriate consequence programs.

Rescues

On Saturday, Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) agents working in the West Desert rescued a pregnant Guatemalan woman. BORSTAR agents treated the woman for severe dehydration and transported her to a nearby hospital. Later that afternoon, BORSTAR agents apprehended two illegal aliens from Mexico who showed symptoms of severe dehydration. Agents treated the illegal aliens for dehydration and transported them to a local hospital for treatment.

Early Sunday morning, BORSTAR agents responded to a phone call of an illegal alien in distress west of Cowlic. The subject was found and medical treatment was deemed unnecessary. Subsequently, the subject was taken into custody and transported to the Casa Grande Station for further processing.

Ajo Station Agents responded to an activated rescue beacon in the West Desert and discovered an illegal alien from Baja California, who stated he had crossed five days earlier and his group had left him behind. The man was evaluated and found to be in good health. He was taken into custody and transported to the Ajo Station for processing.

Nogales Station agents responded to a call from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office regarding two illegal aliens in distress east of Nogales. Agents located the subjects, who were experiencing extreme dehydration, and contacted emergency medical services to evaluate the aliens. The aliens were transported to a nearby hospital for further treatment.

Remains discovered

On Friday, Casa Grande Station agents working southwest of Vamori discovered human remains in the desert.

The following morning, agents discovered human remains east of Choulic. In both incidents, the Tohono O'odham Police Department was notified and took custody of the scene.

Drugs seized

Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents seized nearly 1,992 pounds of marijuana with an estimated value of $1 million in three separate incidents.

On Saturday morning, agents assigned to the Ajo Station discovered 16 bundles of marijuana abandoned in the desert while following footprints northeast of Lukeville. Agents transported the marijuana to the Ajo Station for processing. The narcotics weighed 793 pounds with an estimated value of $396,500.

On Saturday evening, Sonoita Station agents seized 12 bundles of marijuana discovered abandoned in the brush after following footprints in the mountains south of Sonoita. The narcotics, weighing 649 pounds with an estimated value of $324,500, were seized and taken to the Sonoita Station for transfer to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Early Monday, Border Patrol agents from the Casa Grande Station were patrolling Newfield when they responded to a detection technology alert and observed a suspicious pickup truck in the immediate area. The agents stopped the truck and found it was loaded with marijuana. The narcotics weighed 549 pounds with an estimated value of $274,500. The truck was seized and the driver is being held for prosecution.

www.tucsonsentinel.com