Exclusive: Border Patrol discovers 19 people hiding in drainage system trying to illegally enter US

U.S. Border Patrol agents in San Diego discovered 19 people, including convicted drug traffickers, hiding in a drainage system near the border, according to a Customs and Border Protection press release exclusively obtained by Blaze News.

On the evening of May 4, Border Patrol agents from the Chula Vista Station, using the Remote Video Surveillance System, detected “suspicious activity” near the drainage tunnels. When they responded to the scene, they found a group of individuals attempting to illegally enter the U.S. through the drainage system.

'If you try to illegally cross our border, we will catch you and arrest you.'

They arrested 19 suspects, 16 adults and three unaccompanied minors, all of whom are Mexican citizens.

“The dedicated men and women of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, alongside our law enforcement partners, have arrested and removed thousands of criminal aliens from the country — including gang members, rapists, kidnappers, and drug traffickers — to make our communities safer,” the CBP stated.

Raudel Carrillo-Padilla, 35, and his brother, Ivan Carrillo-Padilla, 31, were among those arrested. The two had previously been deported from the U.S. following a 2017 conviction for possession, transport, and intent to sell methamphetamine in Yreka, California. Ivan Carrillo-Padilla was deported a second time after he was arrested in 2019 for a drug-related interdiction stop in Eugene, Oregon.

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Image source: US Customs and Border Protection

All of the suspects were transported to the Chula Vista Station for processing. They will face either removal or federal prosecution, the CBP’s press release stated.

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Image source: US Customs and Border Protection

“These smuggling attempts are not only dangerous, but they also frequently involve individuals who pose a threat to public safety,” San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Justin De La Torre said. “Thanks to the vigilance of our agents and the effective use of surveillance technology, this group — which included convicted drug traffickers — was apprehended before they could move further into our communities. If you try to illegally cross our border, we will catch you and arrest you.”

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