Two Mexican brothers with methamphetamine trafficking records turned up among a group of illegal border crossers pulled out of a drainage tunnel system in California.
Border Patrol agents at the Chula Vista Station arrested 19 people in San Diego on May 4, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a press release. The haul included 16 adults and three unaccompanied children. Each one was a Mexican national caught inside drainage tunnels near the southern border.
The Blaze first reported on the arrests Monday.
Raudel Carrillo-Padilla, 35, and his 31-year-old brother Ivan Carrillo-Padilla were both flagged as repeat offenders, according to CBP. The pair had already been kicked out of the country once before, following 2017 convictions in Yreka, California, on charges of possessing, transporting, and intending to sell meth. Ivan was sent back to Mexico a second time after officers stopped him in a 2019 drug interdiction operation in Eugene, Oregon, the agency said. (RELATED: Four-Time Deported Illegal Alien Allegedly Shoves Elderly Vet Onto Subway Tracks)
The agents zeroed in on the group just before 11 p.m. using a Remote Video Surveillance System feed, then moved on the tunnel entrance. A specialized San Diego Sector Tunnel Team later swept the rest of the conduit to confirm nobody else was concealed inside.
They thought they could sneak into the United States, but their attempt at evading CBP was flushed away!
On May 4th, U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Chula Vista Station arrested 19 people discovered hiding in a drainage system near the border in San Diego.
Two of the…
— CBP (@CBP) May 18, 2026
San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Justin De La Torre tied the arrests to public safety risk in a statement from the press release.
“These smuggling attempts are not only dangerous, but they also frequently involve individuals who pose a threat to public safety,” he 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.”
All 19 detainees went to the Chula Vista Station and now face either deportation or federal criminal charges, CBP reported.
CBP credited President Donald Trump and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin with the enforcement push. The agency said agents have removed thousands of criminal aliens, including gang affiliates, sex offenders, abductors and narcotics dealers.