MS-13 gang member arrested near port of entry

An active MS-13 gang member was arrested by Border Patrol agents near the Calexico Port of Entry Thursday night.

According to a press release, agents arrested a man near the Calexico Port of Entry at around 10:36 p.m. after he allegedly entered the United States illegally. Authorities then determined that the man was a citizen of El Salvador illegally present in the country.

Following a records check, the man was identified as 37-year-old Adys Avelar-Rivera, of El Salvador. Avelar had been convicted of a felony possession of narcotics and was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 36 months’ probation in 2001. In 2003, he was sentenced to three years in prison for felony drug possession.

Avelar has also been convicted twice for illegal re-entry, in 2017 and 2015. He served a total of 83 months in prison and admitted to being an active member of the MS-13 gang.

Avelar is being detained pending criminal prosecution.