Ex-border cop dressed as postman nabbed for smuggling

EL PASO, Texas | Wed Feb 16, 2011 7:02pm EST

EL PASO, Texas (Reuters) - A former U.S. Customs inspector dressed in a postman's uniform was nabbed as he allegedly tried to smuggle a Mexican woman into Texas on false papers, authorities said on Wednesday.

Border inspectors in Del Rio, Texas, became suspicious when the 58-year-old man drove up to the port of entry wearing a U.S. Postal Service uniform on Tuesday with a woman passenger claiming to be a U.S. citizen, U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Rick Pauza said.

A subsequent inspection revealed that the 38-year-old woman was in fact a Mexican citizen from Ciudad Acuna, in Mexico's northern Coahuila state, who attempted to gain entry using a Texas birth certificate that did not belong to her.

"It's fairly unique for officers to encounter someone wearing a U.S. Postal Service uniform when they are coming across the border from Mexico, so it certainly raised some eyebrows during the inspection process," Pauza told Reuters by telephone .

Pauza said it was not immediately clear why the man was dressed as a postman, or what his relationship to the woman was. He said he believed the man had worked in Del Rio as an inspector.

In a statement, port director Michael Perez praised the inspectors' vigilance for unmasking "a significant alleged immigration law violation involving a former U.S. Customs inspector."

"We do not tolerate alleged misconduct by anyone who was sworn to defend the U.S. Constitution and our officers remain committed to keeping our borders secure and upholding federal law," he said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/ ... 0K20110217