SW Arizona News

Agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Blythe station have announced the arrest of a convicted sex offender during a reported human smuggling attempt on February 25. This information was shared in a post on X dated February 26.

In the post, authorities identified the individual as Antonio Olivera Gallegos, who had previously been deported from the United States. He has a felony conviction for child molestation and a misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence.

The Blythe Station, located in Blythe, California, has been operational since 1948. By 1953, agents from this station were apprehending hundreds of undocumented individuals. In 1961, the current station was constructed to accommodate four agents. According to the CBP webpage dedicated to the Blythe Station, agents work at checkpoints across California, Arizona, and Nevada, covering southeast California, northwest Arizona, and all of Nevada.

Screenshot of Yuma Sector Chief's Feb. 25 post on X | X

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection's dedicated webpage for the Yuma Sector, this sector was established in 1954 and covers 181,670 square miles of desert between California and Arizona. It includes 126 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border and consists of three border stations: Blythe, Yuma, and Wellton.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), under the Department of Homeland Security, is tasked with safeguarding national borders and preventing illegal entry. Since its establishment in 1924, CBP has operated across 328 ports of entry to protect 7,000 miles of land borders and 95,000 miles of maritime borders.