SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Border Patrol agents arrested five people in connection with a human smuggling incident, including one man convicted of being a sexual predator.
A vehicle traveling through a temporary immigration checkpoint in Potrero failed to stop at about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, before agents stopped the vehicle several yards past the checkpoint.
Agents say five males in the vehicle were questioned. Three passengers in the vehicle's backseat said they were from Mexico but had no U.S. documentation, according to CBP. The driver and front seat passenger claimed to be from the U.S.
The driver and front passenger were arrested on suspicion of smuggling and the three other passengers were arrested for being in the U.S. illegally, CBP said.
During a records check at a nearby station, agents learned one passenger, a 39-year-old Mexican national, was convicted in 2012 of kidnapping and rape of a minor in San Diego. He was sentenced to a seven-year prison term and removed from the U.S.
“I am proud of the great work agents demonstrated in arresting this known child predator,” said Chief Patrol Agent Douglas Harrison. “Their actions help keep our communities safer.”
Both U.S. citizens face human smuggling charges and the previously deported Mexican man faces federal charges. The two other passengers will be processed for removal from the country.
