Oct 20, 3:36 PM EDT

AP source: Ex-Border Patrol agents held in Mexico

By ELLIOT SPAGAT
Associated Press Writer

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A U.S. law enforcement source tells The Associated Press that two former Border Patrol agents suspected of smuggling migrants and drugs into the United States have been detained in Tijuana, Mexico.

The source says brothers Raul and Fidel Villarreal were captured Saturday at an apartment near the U.S. consulate in Tijuana and taken to Mexico City.

The source - who was not authorized to discuss the case publicly - said Monday that U.S. authorities will request their extradition.

Both were veteran agents. Raul Villarreal was a former agency spokesman.

Another law enforcement source previously told the AP that the brothers vanished in July 2006 while under suspicion of helping smuggle Mexicans and Brazilians into the United States. That source spoke condition of anonymity due to the matter's sensitivity

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