CBP Tampa Nabs 1,000th Apprehension This Year

An illegal Trinidadian national convicted of child sex crimes became the 1,000th apprehension of this fiscal year for U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Tampa Station, the agency exclusively told The Epoch Times on Wednesday.

The office on Florida’s gulf coast is far ahead of its 2025 pace for apprehending criminal aliens, according to CBP, reflecting the Sunshine State’s cooperative approach with federal agencies.

“I am grateful for the vigilant work of our Border Patrol agents in enforcing our nation’s immigration laws, and for the partnerships we have with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in tackling the threats posed by criminal illegal aliens,” said Miami Border Patrol Sector’s Acting Chief Patrol Agent Samuel B. Briggs II.

Border Patrol agents, working with Florida Department of Probation and Parole officers, arrested Trinidadian man Troy Antonio Baldeo, 60, on April 17.

According to CBP, he has overstayed his visa for roughly a decade.

Baldeo attempted to flee and evade prosecution on child sex offense charges in 2015, the agency said. Federal officers intercepted and arrested him on Dec. 7, 2015, at the JFK International Airport in New York.

The Trinidadian man was attempting to board a flight back to his home country when CBP officers stopped him, the agency said.

Authorities extradited Baldeo back to Hillsborough County, Florida, where his charges originated, to face prosecution. He was convicted on five felony child sex offenses on July 26, 2016.

Baldeo was eventually released from prison in December 2025, then moved to Baltimore, Maryland, for a short time before coming back to Florida, where he was apprehended by CBP’s Tampa Station and became the office’s 1,000th apprehension for overstaying his nonimmigrant visa.

“Supported by President Donald J. Trump and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, this 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,” the Miami sector’s acting chief patrol agent said.

Border Patrol said Baldeo was processed as a criminal illegal alien and turned over to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for removal proceedings.

CBP shared other notable, recent apprehensions from its Tampa Station with The Epoch Times.

A Micronesia national who was convicted of child sex crimes was taken into custody on Feb. 26, 2026, and on Jan. 7, 2025, federal agents at the Tampa office apprehended a Mexican national determined to be a Sureños 13 gang member.

A Venezuelan national, confirmed as a member of a South American theft group and convicted of grand theft and three counts of larceny, was apprehended by CBP’s Tampa Station on Nov. 20, 2025.

Earlier in November, federal agents captured a Mexican national convicted of cocaine possession, and in late October 2025, a Venezuelan national wanted for financial crimes in his home country was apprehended in Tampa.

Compared to fiscal year 2025, CBP’s Tampa Station did not record their 1,000th apprehension until August. The office finished that year with 1,229 apprehensions.

Baldeo’s capture on April 17 sets a new 1,000th-apprehension pace by roughly four months.

CBP’s Miami Sector, however, has apprehended more than 6,600 illegal aliens and criminal individuals this fiscal year. Last fiscal year’s total for the Miami office was 6,475.