C.B.P. News Release

Yuma Sector Agents Arrest MS-13 Gang Member

(Monday, September 01, 2008)

Andrade, Calif. – Border Patrol agents arrested an admitted member of the Mara Salvatrucha gang in Andrade Calif., on Saturday.

About 4 a.m., an agent patrolling near the port of entry in Andrade, Calif. tracked footprints heading north from the U.S./Mexico International Boundary. The agent followed the tracks to some vegetation and discovered three illegal aliens from Honduras hiding in the brush.

Fingerprint checks identified one of the subjects as an MS-13 gang member with criminal history originating in 2006. The gang member’s eight arrests, focusing in the Los Angeles, Calif. area, ranged from miscellaneous drug offenses to attempted robbery. The subject has one prior removal from the U.S.

The admittedly active gang member was prosecuted for re-entry after deportation, illegal entry, and was served with a reinstatement of prior deportation orders under Operation Streamline.

This is the second MS-13 gang member arrested by the Yuma Sector in the past 14 days.

The other two members in the group had no criminal history. They stated they had only met the gang member shortly before their entry. One Honduran, an unaccompanied juvenile, was processed for formal removal proceedings. The other, was processed for prosecution for Illegal Entry and served with an Expedited Removal.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

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