A suspected MS-13 gang member illegally in the United States was apprehended on a traffic stop in South Texas on Wednesday, according to law enforcement.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers say Walter Alexander Zavala Amaya of El Salvador is a member of MS-13, a terrorist organization declared by Texas. He was apprehended on Wednesday in Val Verde County, near the Texas border town of Del Rio.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said that troopers encountered Zavala Amaya during a traffic stop on Tuesday, but he fled. During the subsequent chase, he dropped his ID card, which identified him as an El Salvador resident.
Law enforcement officials, assisted by Border Patrol and the FBI’s Threat Screening Center, linked Zavala Amaya to MS-13.
He was encountered again shortly after 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday on U.S. 277 during a traffic stop of a car driven by Kieuncey Worth, 24, of Rockwall, Texas. Officials said he was in the rear seat of Worth’s automobile, along with two Mexican nationals.
Worth and his passenger, Coy Ford, 23, of Wichita Falls, Texas, were detained and charged with human smuggling. They were transferred to the Val Verde County Jail.
The three migrants were turned over to the US Border Patrol.
According to officials, Zavala Amaya was detained and deported to El Salvador by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in May 2016. He later returned to the United States and was apprehended on July 11 by agents from ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Baltimore Field Office. Zavala Amaya was last removed from the United States on July 13.