A report indicates that authorities in South Texas arrested a Russian mercenary who had crossed the border illegally from Mexico.
The case took place over the weekend in the border city of Roma, Texas, when U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Timur Praliev, a Kazakhstan national who had been a member of the private military company Wagner Group, court documents revealed.
Local reporter Dave Hendricks first reported on the case when Praliev went before a federal judge in McAllen and pleaded guilty to a charge of illegally entering the country. According to Hendricks, at the time of the arrest, Praliev had two passports, one from Khazakstan and one from Russia. He also had a drone in his backpack, $4,000 in cash, and 60,000 pesos (close to $3,000).
During the hearing, federal prosecutors brought up concerns about Praliev being released since the sentence for illegal entry is only days. According to Hendricks, U.S. Magistrate J. Scott Hacker said that Praliev would remain in some form of federal custody after his illegal entry hearing. Hacker stated he did not know why Praliev was in the United States.
The judge sentenced the Russian mercenary to time served.
Praliev’s arrest comes at a time when, as Breitbart Texas reported, authorities have been encountering an apparent rise in apprehensions of “special interest aliens,” or individuals from countries with ties to terrorism. This week, Breitbart Texas reporter Bob Price reported this week on the arrests of two Iranians and two Egyptians, which raised red flags within U.S. Border Patrol.
In December, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens revealed that his agency had come across 10,000 SIAs in the prior fiscal year, Breitbart Texas reported.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
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