Two members of the Mara-Salvatrucha – or MS-13 – gang were snatched trying to re-enter the United States illegally in Arizona.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents patrolling a remote canyon area west of Nogales encountered 30-year-old Joel Santos-Funes after he entered the U.S. from Mexico early Monday morning.
Joel Santos-Funes, 30, was arrested trying to re-enter the U.S. in Arizona.
(U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
Agents discovered that Santos-Funes – a Honduran national – was a member of MS-13 gang who had been previously deported after taking his fingerprints.
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The next day, on Tuesday, agents in Casa Grande apprehended 39-year-old Deyly Turcios-Giron, just west of Tucson. Turcios-Giron is also from Honduras.
Deyly Turcios-Giron, a 37-year-old MS-13 member, was arrested trying to re-enter the U.S. illegally.
(U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
CBP said both men have extensive immigration violation histories, including a 2013 criminal conviction for drug smuggling against Turcios-Giron.
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Officials said the two men will remain in federal custody pending prosecution for criminal immigration violations.