Feds arrest officer on smuggling charges
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January 30, 2009 - 10:22 PM
By Ildefonso Ortiz/The Brownsville Herald

Federal authorities arrested an officer with U.S. Customs and Border Protection after conducting an investigation into his alleged involvement in the smuggling of drugs and undocumented immigrants, officials said.

Sergio Lopez Hernandez, 40, a 12-year veteran with the agency, was arrested Wednesday while on duty at the Free Trade Bridge at Los Indios. Federal authorities also raided his residence in Brownsville. More than $85,000 was found in a safe inside the house, said Angela Dodge, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Lopez Hernandez and his alleged accomplices, Javier Alonso Banda, Jose Estrada Lopez and Francisco Mejia Fajardo, were charged with knowingly disregarding the entry of unauthorized aliens into the country, said Dodge. Lopez Hernandez and Mejia Fajardo have also been charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and unlawful importation of a controlled substance.

Lopez Hernandez became the subject of surveillance and undercover operations after federal agents received reports in October that he had been allowing vehicles with undocumented immigrants and illegal drugs to enter the country at the Los Indios bridge, a criminal complaint filed in federal court states. The officer allegedly received $500 per undocumented immigrant he allowed to pass through his vehicle checkpoint.

During the investigation, federal agents set up one undercover operation in which they paid $1,700 to smugglers to bring an undocumented immigrant into the country. According to court documents, Lopez Hernandez allowed the vehicle carrying the undocumented immigrant to cross through his lane, while undercover agents conducted surveillance and documented the illegal act. The immigrant was taken into custody and identified Lopez Hernandez.

Court documents cite a second operation when an undercover agent paid $3,400 to have two undocumented immigrants smuggled through Lopez Hernandez's lane. At the end of the undercover operation, the immigrant identified Lopez Hernandez as the officer who allowed him to cross and Estrada Lopez as the driver of the vehicle.

A check by investigators revealed that vehicles used to cross undocumented immigrants would follow the staffing patterns of Lopez Hernandez and would not cross when he was on leave or off duty, the criminal complaint said.

According to court documents, on Wednesday federal agents set up surveillance at the bridge and recorded Lopez Hernandez allowing the entry of four vehicles previously identified as those used for smuggling undocumented immigrants. The vehicles were intercepted and Alonso Banda, Estrada Lopez and Mejia Fajardo were arrested. The occupants of the fourth vehicle fled into Mexico.

The vehicle driven by Mejia Fajardo contained 15 kilograms of cocaine, according to the criminal complaint.

Lopez Hernandez remained in custody on Friday.

"Integrity is a core value of Customs and Border Protection," said CBP spokesman Eddie Perez. "We take all allegations of misconduct seriously and work with the Department of Homeland Security to investigate all allegations of misconduct."


Iortiz@brownsvilleherald.com
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