(The Center Square) – Border Patrol agents working in Tampa, Florida, have arrested their 1,000th child sex offender in just four months. The 1,000th arrest was of a Trinidadian man convicted of five felony child sex offenses in Hillsborough County with a lengthy criminal record.
They’re working out of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Miami Sector’s Tampa Station, one of the oldest Border Patrol stations in the country.
The Tampa Station first opened in 1925 to respond to large smuggling rings entering Florida using Cuban fishing boats. It is the only station on Florida’s west coast.
Its area of responsibility covers 12 counties in central and western Florida, spanning 190 miles long and 125 miles wide. It also includes three seaports. From the Gulf, it stretches east to Lake, Osceola, Highland and Glades counties. It stretches north to Levy and Marion counties and south to Lee County.
The 1,000th arrest and “significant milestone is further proof that Border Patrol agents remain committed to making our communities safer by apprehending and removing the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens,” Acting Chief Patrol Agent Samuel Briggs II, Miami Border Patrol Sector, said. “
The 1,000th arrest was a Trinidad national, Troy Antonio Baldeo, who was in the U.S. illegally on an expired visa. His criminal history in the U.S. dates to 2015, when he attempted to evade prosecution on the child sex offense charges. CBP officers arrested him in December 2015 at JFK International Airport in New York as he attempted to board a flight to Trinidad and Tobago. He was extradited to Hillsborough County and convicted in 2016, the same year his nonimmigrant visa expired.
After he was released from prison last December, he wasn’t deported. He moved to Baltimore, Maryland, then returned to Florida where he was arrested this month, CBP said. He remains in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and is being processed for removal.
Other recent notable Tampa Station Border Patrol child sex offender arrests include a Mexican national and confirmed Sureños 13 gang member and a Venezuelan national and confirmed South American Theft Group member. The Venezuelan was convicted of grand theft and three counts of larceny – grand yheft, CBP said. Florida law enforcement officers have been arresting SATG members statewide, including those who are targeting minority small business owners, The Center Square reported.
Other notable child sex offender arrests include a Micronesia national convicted of charges for “Use of Computer Services for Lewd and Lascivious and Out of State Transmission of Harmful Material to a Minor” and a fugitive wanted by Venezuelan officials for financial crimes.
The station’s arrest milestone puts them “well ahead of their 2025 pace for apprehending criminal aliens,” Briggs said. Last year, they recorded their 1,000th child sex offender apprehension last August. They also finished the year with 1,229 apprehensions of child sex offenders, he said.
The Miami Sector is one of the busiest in the country. It covers four southeastern states, not just south Florida, including all of Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina.
Border Patrol agents in the Miami Sector are well known for apprehending foreign nationals attempting illegal entry by sea and made a record number of arrests off Florida’s coast during the Biden administration, The Center Square reported.
As of April 30, agents from the sector apprehended more than 6,600 illegal foreign nationals and criminals, already surpassing last fiscal year’s total of 6,475, according to CBP data.
Miami Sector Border Patrol is also encouraging members of the public to report border security concerns in Florida by calling 1-877-772-8146.
