PHOENIX, Arizona — Federal agents arrested a previously deported convicted rapist trying to illegally sneak into Arizona.

U.S. Border Patrol agents working near the town of Sasabe arrested 25-year-old Raul Cordova Garcia for being illegally in the country, information provided to Breitbart Texas by U.S Customs and Border Protection revealed.

During the processing and booking phase of the arrest, it was discovered that the illegal alien a prior felony conviction and was previously deported after serving his sentence. All individuals apprehended by the Border Patrol undergo criminal history checks using a biometric system to identify illegal immigrants who may have criminal histories.

Cordova Garcia was convicted in DeKalb County, Georgia, in 2012 on the charge of statutory rape. Following his conviction, he served a 12-month prison sentence and was deported in 2013. The suspect has now been formally charged with a felony count of illegal re-entry into the United States.

The Tucson Sector, which includes Sasabe, is an area well-known for human smuggling and drug trafficking activities. Federal agents in that station recently arrested a previously deported MS-13 gang member who had a lengthy criminal history, Breitbart Texas reported. The MS-13 gang member was identified as Misael Ramirez-Benitez, a Salvadoran national was reportedly arrested shortly after he illegally crossed the border from Mexico. He crossed near the town of Lukeville, Arizona, according to information provided to Breitbart Texas by U.S. Border Patrol. 

Last week, Border Patrol agents from Tucson arrested an illegal alien who had previously been convicted of rape and other sexual related charges from a 2012 Indiana case. Authorities also learned that he had a previous conviction in Arizona for failing to register as a sex offender in 2015.

Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.)