Border Patrol nabs suspected MS-13 gang member
7/20/07 (12:49 p.m.)
Sun News Report
Las Cruces Sun-News


LAS CRUCES Customs and Border Patrol agents in New Mexico netted more than 700 pounds of marijuana and nabbed a member of the international MS-13 gang this week.

On Wednesday evening, Border Patrol agents followed footprints three miles south of NM Highway 9 when they encountered six individuals in the desert with five large bundles of marijuana. During the course of the arrest, agents discovered that one of the members of the group, a 30-year-old male from Chihuahua, Mexico, is a member of the street gang, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13). Agents also found .22 caliber ammunition hidden in a backpack belonging to one of the suspected smugglers.

Agents seized 224 pounds of marijuana valued at $179,216, and turned the narcotics and subjects over to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Thursday, agents discovered another eight bundles of marijuana abandoned in the same area. That load of contraband, weighing 206 pounds, is valued at $165,136.

The seizure came after another Thursday incident near Las Cruces. Border Patrol agents at the I-25 Border Patrol traffic checkpoint encountered a 29-year-old female from Colorado who was driving a 2000 Chevrolet van. The driver displayed unusual mannerisms which generated suspicion. A Border Patrol canine was summoned and alerted agents to the vehicle.

Agents searched the vehicle and discovered a hidden compartment concealing 133 bundles of marijuana. Agents arrested the driver and seized the drugs valued at $230,000. Agents transferred custody of the driver, van, and drugs to the DEA.

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