Border Patrol agents say a late-night scan of San Diego's storm drains ended with 19 people in custody after officers followed suspicious activity into drainage tunnels just north of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Authorities reported that shortly before midnight on May 4, agents found 16 adults and three unaccompanied children hiding inside a drainage tunnel near the border. Everyone in the group was taken to the Chula Vista Border Patrol station for processing. Among those detained were two brothers who, according to law enforcement officials, already had drug-trafficking convictions on their records and had been deported before.
According to The San Diego Union‑Tribune, agents from the Chula Vista Station first picked up "suspicious activity" at about 10:40 PM on May 4 using the Remote Video Surveillance System. They traced what they saw on the monitors to nearby drainage tunnels, where they found the group concealed underground. The San Diego Sector Tunnel Team then entered and cleared the system to ensure no one else was hiding in the conduits. Border officials released details of the operation to news outlets on May 19, after the group had been processed.
In a press release obtained by Blaze News, U.S. Customs and Border Protection identified two of the detainees as brothers Raudel Carrillo‑Padilla, 35, and Ivan Carrillo‑Padilla, 31. Both had been deported following 2017 convictions in Yreka for possession, transport and intent to sell methamphetamine. The release also states that Ivan Carrillo‑Padilla was deported again after a separate drug-related arrest in Eugene, Oregon, in 2019.
All 19 people were transported to the Chula Vista station for processing and, according to The San Diego Union‑Tribune, will either be placed in removal proceedings or referred for federal criminal prosecution. San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Justin De La Torre publicly thanked the agents involved and credited the sector's surveillance technology with stopping the group before they could move farther into the country.
Why drainage systems are monitored
Border officials say storm drains and other subterranean passages have become a go-to workaround for smugglers trying to slip people or contraband past surface checkpoints. That has led law-enforcement units to invest heavily in remote cameras, tunnel teams and rapid-response protocols tailored specifically to these underground routes.
"These smuggling attempts are not only dangerous, but they also frequently involve individuals who pose a threat to public safety," CBP said in the release obtained by Blaze News.
Legal consequences and next steps
Those arrested are being processed under federal immigration and criminal statutes. CBP said some of the individuals may be quickly removed from the country, while others could face charges in federal court, depending on their histories and circumstances.
The San Diego Sector Tunnel Team has completed its sweep of the drainage tunnels involved in the May 4 incident, and investigators say they will continue reviewing what happened as part of routine enforcement operations in the region's sprawling underground infrastructure.
