Two Border Patrol Agents Arrested, Accused Of Working With Unnamed Drug Cartel

Two officers with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Field Operations have been working with an unnamed drug cartel for a number of years, federal prosecutors have alleged.

According to court documents, the officers allegedly allowed the organization to move large amounts of fentanyl, methamphetamines, cocaine, and heroin through their inspection lanes on the southern border.

Jesse Clark Garcia and Diego Bonillo have been named as the two CBP officers referenced in an indictment filed by the U.S. Southern District of California. The two agents are accused of drug trafficking and drug trafficking conspiracy, and both men have been in custody since May.

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The two officers allegedly coordinated with smugglers in Mexico so that certain vehicles loaded with drugs could go through their lane. Prosecutors allege that the unnamed cartel provided the two agents with tens of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for free passage.

According to a report from the San Diego Tribune, the two agents spent large sums of money on luxury items, European vacations and high-priced box seating in Las Vegas.

The indictment states that in 2021,  a woman drove a Kia Soul to Garcia's lane at the Tecate port of entry. The lane opened despite the fact that there were several cars in front of her when the lane opened.

CBP officers then directed her to a lane and found 140 pounds of cocaine and fentanyl and 25 pounds of methamphetamine. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the woman had freely travelled through Garcia's lane. When Garcia was not working, she would not cross.

Court documents list several additional crossings that appear to show both Garcia and Bonillo working with smugglers in order to allow vehicles loaded with drugs to cross.