144 Border Agents Charged with Corruption, Smuggling Aliens and Drugs Since 2005

Jan 10, 2013 - 0 Comments

Jan. 10, 2013 CNSNews

In the last seven years, 144 officers and agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have been arrested or indicted on corruption charges that include smuggling illegal aliens, smuggling drugs, and bribery, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

“In particular, there have been a number of cases in which individuals, known as infiltrators, pursued employment at CBP solely to engage in mission–compromising activity,” the report said, offering two examples.

In 2007, a CBP officer in El Paso, Texas was arrested for conspiracy to import marijuana into the United States from June 2003 through July 2007, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison after conviction. The Office of Field Operation reported “that she may have sought employment with CBP to facilitate drug smuggling.”

A Border Patrol agent station in Comstock, Texas was arrested in 2008 for conspiracy with intent to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana. The agent was convicted in 2009, sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined $10,000.

“From fiscal years 2005 through 2012, a total of 144 employees were arrested or indicted for corruption related activities, including smuggling aliens or drugs, and 125 have been convicted,” the GAO report says. “About 65 percent (93 of 144) were employees stationed along the southwest border.”

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