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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Prison Time for Border Agent Who Took Bribes

(CN) - A former U.S. Border Patrol agent will spend 20 months in prison for revealing the locations of anti-smuggling sensors to drug traffickers in exchange for a $3,000 bribe, prosecutors said.

U.S. District Judge Michael Anello sentenced former agent Yamilkar Fierros in Tucson on Thursday. Fierros pleaded guilty in 2010 to accepting money from a purported drug smuggler for a list of sensor locations near Sonoita, Ariz.

The original indictment also charged Fierros with selling a law-enforcement-sensitive map of the San Rafael Valley - an area in southeastern Arizona known for heavy smuggling activity - for $1,000.

Fierros was also indicted for accepting a $1,500 payment for a list of 65 new sensor locations in the Sonotia area, and for agreeing to assist in the safe passage of a narcotics load from Patagonia to Tucson, prosecutors said.

"For the price of a few thousand dollars, this officer threw away his career, his honor and his freedom," U.S. Attorney Dennis K. Burke said in a statement. "It is a true shame that he violated his oath to serve and protect the public. This office, and our law enforcement partners, will not hesitate to investigate and prosecute public corruption at any level."

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