SMITHFIELD - Immigration authorities again are trying to deport a suspected gang member who moved to Selma after twice crossing the Mexican border illegally, according to authorities.

Smithfield police on Jan. 25 arrested Lloyd Wilborn "Negro" Berthram, 26, of 408 Lizzie St.

He was wanted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which took him to an Alamance County detainment center.

According to U.S. District Court filings, Berthram - who also uses the names Samuel Ernesto Berthram-Martinez and Daniel Berthram - was deported to Mexico in 2010 after he served time for an armed robbery in Duplin County. He was told he couldn't return to the country without permission from the U.S. Attorney General.

Berthram admitted in court that he had come to the U.S. illegally in 2005 when he waded across the Rio Grande near Laredo, Texas.

On Dec. 27, 2011, immigration officers got an anonymous tip that Berthram had crossed the border again and was living with a girlfriend in Selma. The officers sent arrest warrants and a photo to Selma Police Capt. Richard Cooper.

A few weeks later, Cooper was off duty when he spotted Berthram eating dinner at the Pizza Hut on North Bright Leaf Boulevard in Smithfield. Cooper called Smithfield police to make the arrest.

According to court documents, Berthram was easy to identify because of the MS-13 gang tattoo on his head. The international gang, also known as Mara Salvatrucha, started in Los Angeles and has been involved in a number of violent crimes in Charlotte in the past decade. Authorities also think the group runs a major immigrant-smuggling operation.

Berthram and many MS-13 members have devil's horns tattooed on their shaved heads.

After Berthram was arrested and taken to Alamance County, he was interviewed by immigration officer Krisha Robinson. According to court filings, he told Robinson that he's actually a citizen of El Salvador and lied about being from Mexico so he'd be deported there instead.

Smithfield Police Lt. Keith Powell said it's rare for his department to handle immigration arrests. He credited Selma's Cooper with helping take Berthram off the street. Otherwise, "we wouldn't have known he was there," Powell said.

Berthram appeared in U.S. District Court in Raleigh on Wednesday, and a magistrate decided to continue his detainment until a formal deportation hearing on Monday.

Campbell: 919-836-5768