Some U.S. customs inspectors working for drug cartels
source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/us/18corrupt.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
-
-
- TravG73
- added this
At first, Luis F. Alarid seemed well on his way to becoming a customs agency success story. He had risen from a childhood of poverty and foster homes, some of them abusive, earned praise and commendations while serving in the Army and the Marines, including two tours in Iraq, and returned to Southern California to fulfill a goal of serving in law enforcement.
But, early last year, after just a few months as a customs inspector, he was waving in trucks from Mexico carrying loads of marijuana and illegal immigrants. He pocketed some $200,000 in cash that paid for, as far as the government could tell, a $15,000 motorcycle, flat-screen televisions, a laptop computer and more.
Some investigators believe that Mr. Alarid, 32, who was paid off by a Mexican smuggling crew that included several members of his family, intended to work for smugglers all along. At one point, Mr. Alarid, who was sentenced to seven years in federal prison in February, told investigators that he had researched just how much prison time he might get for his crimes and believed, as investigators later reported, that he could do it “standing on his head.”
Drug traffickers research potential targets, anti-corruption investigators said, exploiting the cross-border clans and relationships that define the region, offering money, sex, whatever it takes.
But, with the border police in the midst of a hiring boom, they think traffickers are pulling out the stops, even soliciting some of their own operatives to apply for jobs.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/us/18corrupt.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
But, early last year, after just a few months as a customs inspector, he was waving in trucks from Mexico carrying loads of marijuana and illegal immigrants. He pocketed some $200,000 in cash that paid for, as far as the government could tell, a $15,000 motorcycle, flat-screen televisions, a laptop computer and more.
Some investigators believe that Mr. Alarid, 32, who was paid off by a Mexican smuggling crew that included several members of his family, intended to work for smugglers all along. At one point, Mr. Alarid, who was sentenced to seven years in federal prison in February, told investigators that he had researched just how much prison time he might get for his crimes and believed, as investigators later reported, that he could do it “standing on his head.”
Drug traffickers research potential targets, anti-corruption investigators said, exploiting the cross-border clans and relationships that define the region, offering money, sex, whatever it takes.
But, with the border police in the midst of a hiring boom, they think traffickers are pulling out the stops, even soliciting some of their own operatives to apply for jobs.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/us/18corrupt.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
-
- groups:
- Community
-
- tags:
- Corruption, Mexican Drug Cartels, US Customs
