Border Patrol agents from the Laredo Sector arrested nine more Bangladesh nationals this week in three separate incidents. The Laredo Sector leads the nation in the apprehension of Bangladesh nationals who are being smuggled through the Los Zetas cartel-controlled territory into the U.S.

Agents working in the Laredo Sector arrested nine Bangladesh nationals after they were illegally smuggled across the border from Tamaulipas, Mexico into Texas. The arrests occurred in three separate incidents between March 20 and 22, according to information obtained by Breitbart Texas from U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.

One week earlier, agents in this same sector arrested seven Bangladesh nationals who were smuggled into the U.S. from the area that surrounds Nuevo Laredo in Mexico. The Los Zetas cartel controls human smuggling in this region.

“It goes to show that our agents are arresting people from all over the world on a daily basis,” Laredo Sector Assistant Chief Patrol Agent Gabriel Acosta. “Their intentions for entering the country illegally can only be determined after they have been arrested.”

Following last week’s arrests, Border Patrol Agent Hector Garza spoke with Breitbart Texas in his capacity as president of National Border Patrol Council 2455.

“The arrest of these people from Bangladesh shows there is a clear pipeline from anywhere in the world to Mexico and on to the southern border of Texas,” Garza said. “We have been lucky to catch these groups but there is no telling how many other people from countries that sponsor terrorism could be utilizing that same pipeline.”

Garza explained that these young men from Bangladesh have been trained in how to manipulate the system to utilize the Department of Homeland Security’s ongoing catch and release program.

“Many of these people from Bangladesh will claim to be unaccompanied alien minors when they are captured by our agents,” Garza explained. “At that point, they are turned over to immigration officials for processing under the existing catch and release programs for minors.”

“When, during medical and dental examinations, immigration officers determine these people are actually adults, they are issued a Notice to Appear (NTA) and released,” Agent Garza explained.

It appears no charges are filed against the foreign nationals for initially lying to Border Patrol agents about being juveniles, he said.