Phoenix Customs Deports Mexican Wanted For Sex Trafficking

A Mexican who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officials in Phoenix has been deported and handed over to Mexican officials investigating him on sex trafficking charges. Valentin Mendiola-Castenada had been arrested in January.

Immigration officials say that he was arrested by officers from the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Fugitive Operations squad.

Officials say that in addition to sex trafficking, Mendiola-Castenada faces a warrant charging him with aggravated sexual exploitation of minors, saying that he sexually exploited two young girls at hotels and homes in Toluca, Mexico.

"The removal of this sex trafficking suspect to face criminal charges in Mexico is the direct result of continued cooperation between ICE and our law enforcement counterparts in Mexico," said Henry Lucero, field office director for ERO in Phoenix.

"Foreign criminal fugitives who believe they can escape justice by fleeing to the U.S. will be apprehended and handed over to the proper law enforcement authorities."

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Mendiola-Castenada has been sent back to Mexico 11 times since 1998 and has been convicted twice in the United States for entering the country illegally - both times serving time in federal prison.

Photo via Immigration and Customs Enforcement