El Centro Sector Border Patrol officials report a more than 200 percent increase in the number of human smuggling cases from immigration inspections at checkpoints in Southern California this fiscal year. The number of migrants arrested during these inspections also rose by more than 200 percent.

During Fiscal Year 2018, which began on October 1, 2017, El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents stopped 210 human smuggling attempts at Border Patrol Checkpoints located on Highways 111 and 86. This compares to Fiscal Year 2017 busts of 68 alien smuggling loads during the same period, according to information obtained by Breitbart Texas from U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. This represents an increase of nearly 209 percent.

Officials noted similar increases in the number of migrants arrested during these smuggling efforts. El Centro agents arrested 210 illegal aliens this fiscal year during the smuggling attempts noted above. This compares to 95 during the same period in Fiscal Year 2017. CBP officials reported a nearly 213 percent increase in the number of migrant arrests at these checkpoints.

“These increases in apprehensions are indicative of our agents’ diligence and hard work, often under extreme weather conditions. Our checkpoints will continue to be a second line of defense against the illegal activity of trans-national criminal organizations,” El Centro Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez said in a written statement.

Agents working these checkpoints also stopped the shipments of more than 1,360 pounds of methamphetamine. Officials said that significant amounts of heroin, cocaine and other dangerous drugs have also been seized by the agents.

Agents working at these checkpoints also aid in the apprehension of dangerous criminals. During a recent inspection at the Highway 111 checkpoint, Border Patrol agents arrested a previously deported aggravated felon and a man with a conviction for attempted murder. During a records check, agents learned that 50-year-old Juan Carlos Avalos-Padilla had an extensive criminal history that included a 2010 conviction for attempted murder in Riverside County, California. He received a seven-year prison sentence following that conviction.

The second arrest involved 37-year-old Ivan Partida-Valdez, a convicted felon who had been previously deported following numerous convictions for aggravated burglary.

Officials reported that both men are Mexican nationals without legal authority to be in the U.S.