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YUMA — An off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agent was held for more than a day by Mexican authorities after crossing the border at San Luis with ammunition in his car before his release late Friday, authorities said.

The unidentified agent was arrested Thursday as he entered Mexico at the San Luis Port of Entry in Southwest Arizona, said Raúl Berumen, a spokesman for municipal authorities in San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico.

Mexican customs inspectors found a bag containing 650 rounds of .40-caliber ammunition in the agent's 2006 Nissan Altima, Berumen said.

Possessing firearms or ammunition in Mexico is illegal, and large warning signs are posted at border crossings.

Lloyd Easterling, a Border Patrol spokesman, said the agent was released late Friday and returned to the United States. He said the agent was assigned to the Border Patrol's Yuma Sector and added that officials worked with Mexican authorities to secure his release.

"He was off duty and he was in his personal vehicle," Easterling said Saturday. He would not release the agent's name.

Berumen and Easterling said a woman and a girl were in the Nissan with the agent and also were detained. Easterling said he did not know if they were also released.

Border Patrol agents are authorized to carry their firearms when they are off duty, but the agent was not armed at the time of his arrest, Easterling said. Agents also know they are not allowed to have weapons or ammunition in Mexico.

"That is the law in Mexico, so certainly they're made aware of it by several means when they move to the community," Easterling said.

A similar incident happened in April 2005, when two U.S. Border Patrol agents from the El Centro, Calif., station were detained by Mexican customs officials at the Mexicali port of entry. Inspectors discovered boxes containing 1,286 .40-caliber bullets and 10 .22-caliber bullets.

The agents were freed on bail after more than a week in a Mexican jail.