2 officers in Ariz. accused of aiding smugglers
by Associated Press
(January 20th, 2012 @ 2:38pm)
http://www.ktar.com/6/1490692/2-officers-in-Ariz-accused-of-aiding-
smugglers
PHOENIX -- A U.S. Border Patrol agent and an Arizona prison officer
who are accused of helping smugglers sneak drugs into the United
States were charged with a federal drug charge.
Border Patrol Agent Ivhan Herrera-Chiang and corrections Officer
Michael Lopez-Garcia were charged with conspiracy to possess drugs
with intent to distribute.
Herrera-Chiang is stationed in Yuma, while Lopez-Garcia works at the
state prison in San Luis, Ariz.
Herrera-Chiang is accused of disclosing combinations to gates near
the border, the identity of informants and other information he had
access to as a member of an intelligence squad.
Lopez-Garcia is accused of smuggling two pounds of methamphetamines
through a port of entry and delivering the intelligence materials
that Herrera-Chiang took to suspected smugglers.
It's not known whether the two officers had lawyers.
UPDATED: Border Patrol agent, state prison corrections officer arrested
January 20, 2012 1:58 PM
BY JAMES GILBERT - SUN STAFF WRITER
UPDATED -- A Yuma sector Border Patrol agent and a corrections
officer at a local state prison have been arrested and charged with
conspiracy to possess controlled substances with the intent to
distribute.
Arrested on Thursday and booked into the Yuma County jail were Ivhan
Herrera-Chiang, 29, a U.S. Border Patrol agent stationed in Yuma, and
Michael Lopez-Garcia, 28, a corrections officer assigned to the
Arizona State Prison Complex in San Luis.
"When a law enforcement officer taints their badge, it erodes public
confidence and threatens national security. The FBI, along with our
partners in law enforcement, will continue to combat public
corruption at all levels," said FBI Special Agent in Charge James L.
Turgal Jr., of the Phoenix Division.
"Public officials hold positions of trust in the eyes of the public,"
said Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations Special Agent
in Charge, Dawn Mertz. "That trust is broken when these officials
commit crimes. No public official gets a free pass to commit a crime
and their status as a political official will not protect them from
federal prosecution."
The complaint against the two men alleges that between September 2010
and January, Herrera and Lopez both conspired to help a drug
trafficking organization ("DTO") smuggle drugs into the United States.
Herrera's alleged role was to obtain and disclose sensitive
information, including sensor maps, combinations to gates located
near the U.S/Mexican border, computer records concerning prior drug
seizures, and the identity of confidential informants. He had access
to such information by virtue of his membership in a Border Patrol
intelligence unit.
Lopez's alleged role included personally smuggling two pounds of
methamphetamine through the port of entry, guiding cocaine
traffickers around patrols and checkpoints, and personally delivering
drugs and intelligence materials (obtained by Herrera) to persons he
believed to be DTO representatives. Lopez's drug buyer was actually
an undercover agent.
A conviction for conspiracy to possess controlled substances with
intent to distribute carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, a
$10 million fine, or both.
Read more: http://www.yumasun.com/articles/agent-76071-border-
public.html#ixzz1k2ojUQsj
Arizona border agent, jail officer arrested in drug case
by JJ Hensley - Jan. 20, 2012 01:50 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
A U.S. Border Patrol agent stationed in Yuma and an Arizona
Department of Corrections officer from San Luis were arrested on
Thursday and charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute
methamphetamine and cocaine, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
Border Patrol agent Ivhan Herrera-Chiang, 29, and corrections officer
Michael Lopez-Garcia, 28, who works at the Arizona state prison in
Yuma, were accused in a criminal complaint of conspiring to smuggle
drugs into the U.S. between September 2010 and January 2012.
The complaint alleges that Herrera got sensitive information about
Border Patrol operations and shared it with the smugglers. The
information allegedly included maps of border-sensor locations,
combination to gates located on the border and the identities of
confidential informants.
Lopez took the information from Herrera and delivered it people Lopez
thought were affiliated with Mexican drug-trafficking organizations
but the supposed drug buyer's were actually undercover agents,
according to the complaint.
Lopez also personally smuggled two pounds of methamphetamine through
a Border Patrol checkpoint and guided cocaine traffickers around
patrols and checkpoints, according to the complaint.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the investigation and
arrests were made through the FBI's Southwest Arizona Border
Corruption Task Force.
Officials from a wide range of federal agencies lauded the
investigation and arrests.
"When a law enforcement officer taints their badge, it erodes public
confidence and threatens national security. The FBI, along with our
partners in law enforcement, will continue to combat public
corruption at all levels," James L. Turgal Jr., special agent in
charge of the Phoenix FBI, said in a statement.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/
2012/01/20/20120120arizona-border-agent-jail-officer-arrested-drug-
case.html#ixzz1k2nBcEwW
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