Border Patrol in Texas picks up abandoned bag of 'AK-47 style' guns

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Fox News live on scene of illegal border crossings in Del Rio, Texas

Fox News National Correspondent Bill Melugin reporting live from Del Rio, Texas at the southern border amid the wave of migrants crossing the border illegally.

Border Patrol agents in Texas secured an abandoned bag filled with "AK-47 style pistols," including some that had been reported stolen, officials said Tuesday -- just as authorities are trying to deal with a continuing crisis at the southern border

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said that a member of the National Guard near Eagle Pass, Texas located an abandoned gym bag. Border Patrol agents seized the bag, which turned out to contain what CBP described as "eight AK-47 style pistols and 10 AK-47 style 30-round magazines."

BORDER CRISIS: 5 UNACCOMPANIED MIGRANT GIRLS FOUND ABANDONED IN TEXAS

Border Patrol agents then moved the guns to the nearby station for processing, where authorities later discovered that four of the weapons had previously been reported as stolen.

Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Austin Skero said it wasn’t the first time guns had been found in that territory.

"This is the second time our agents encountered abandoned weapons and ammo in this area," he said in a statement. "It’s critical that our agents stay alert to all threats and work with our partners to stop criminal organizations from entering our communities."

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION LAUNCHES EFFORT TO TARGET, SANCTION MIGRANT SMUGGLERS 

Border authorities have been scrambling to cope with a dramatic spike in migrant apprehensions that has left authorities overwhelmed -- with officials warning that cartels and other criminals are using the crisis to smuggle people, weapons and drugs through the border.

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It emerged Sunday that five abandoned migrant girls, all under the age of 7, were discovered by a Texas farmer on his land in Quemado, near the Rio Grande Valley.

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Meanwhile, CBP data from April shows that the weight of fentanyl seized at the border in the first quarter has seen a 233% increase from this same time last year.

The Biden administration last month announced an effort to sanction transnational organizations that help smuggle migrants across the southern border,