Previously deported gang member arrested by Border Patrol

Border Patrol agents with the Calexico Station busted two men on Saturday in separate incidents. The first incident involved a previously deported gang member who illegally entered the U.S. and agents seized over 40 pounds of methamphetamine in the second bust.

At about 5 a.m., agents were on routine patrol when they caught 27-year-old Luis Armando Barrera Espinoza trying to make illegal entry into the U.S. about a half mile east of the Calexico port of entry, according to the release.

Agents discovered Barrera, of El Salvador, was a member of the notorious ‘Sureo’ criminal gang. He was taken into custody by Border Patrol and he is facing further processing for illegally entering the United States.

The second incident occurred at 1 p.m. Saturday. Agents said a 26-year-old Mexican citizen was stopped in a Honda Civic as he approached the Highway 86 checkpoint.

A canine alerted agents to the man’s car for inspection and authorities found six vacuum-sealed bundles of methamphetamine stashed in the car’s rocker panels.

The meth weighed 43.3 pounds and is estimated to cost $433,000, agents said in the release. The DEA is handling the investigation.