By KRWG News
Alamogordo – El Paso Sector U.S. Border Patrol Agents were busy this week in two separate instances with the arrest of a sexual offender and the confiscation of 18 bundles of cocaine and marijuana valued at over a quarter million dollars.
On Wednesday, U.S. Border Patrol Agents assigned to the Alamogordo, New Mexico traffic checkpoint on Highway 70 apprehended 58-year-old, U.S. citizen Dennis Lamonte Brown after it was discovered that the tractor trailer he was driving was loaded with narcotics.
During preliminary inspection, agents immediately began to smell a strong odor of marijuana emitting from the cab of the tractor. The tractor trailer was then referred to a secondary inspection where a non-intrusive search by a canine alerted to the presence of narcotics. A subsequent search revealed 16 bundles of marijuana along with two bundles of cocaine all wrapped in cellophane tape.
Total contraband seized has an estimated street value of $324,560; all of which was discovered inside duffle bags and suitcases located inside the cab of the tractor trailer. The subject was taken into custody and the narcotics and tractor trailer were seized. The subject, narcotics and vehicle were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for prosecution.
In fiscal year 2010, the El Paso Sector has seized a total of $47 million in narcotics.
On Thursday, Border Patrol Agents assigned to the El Paso Station were conducting patrol duties when they observed an individual just north of the Rio Grande approximately 2 miles west of the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry. The subject, later identified as 39-year-old Andres Hernandez-Villafuerte (Mexican citizen), admitted to entering the United States illegally with no documents to be or remain in the United States.
Subsequent to the arrest, Hernandez-Villafuerte's biometric and biographical information was submitted into the E3/IDENT/IAFIS databases. Records revealed that the subject had a criminal history to include four prior formal removals from the United States. Records also show that Hernandez -Villafuerte pled guilty to Indecent Exposure (1st Degree Misdemeanor) and Sexual Offense Against a Child-Fondling (2nd Degree Felony) back in 1997. Hernandez was turned over to the El Paso County Detention Facility pending prosecution.