Border Patrol Agent Accused of Staging Fake Drug Bust to Help Traffickers Rip Off Cartel

The war on drugs produces numerous reports of corruption. Typically, these cases involve law enforcement officials providing inside information to traffickers, looking the other way at drug shipments, or busting rival dealers. However, this one is different from most of the others. Rarely do law enforcement agents help drug traffickers steal shipments from drug cartels. You could call this a case of "drug trafficking embezzlement."

Last week on Monday, a Border Patrol agent, Eduardo Bazan, entered federal court to face charges for "knowingly and willfully making a false statement." Bazan was responsible in 2007 for a seizure of 66 kilos of cocaine. According to Bazan's report, he followed a Honda Civic for 50 yards before the driver and other occupants jumped out of the car and fled the scene. He called for backup and the drugs were discovered in the car. However, it was later discovered that the the drugs from this bust were essentially fake; they were extremely diluted. In addition, Bazan recently admitted to investigators with Homeland Security that he accepted a $8,000 bribe to arrange this seizure. In reality, the Honda Civic was not occupied; it had been parked their for some time.

Here's how this alleged conspiracy worked. Agents with Homeland Security Investigations found out in 2013, through a criminal informant, that Border Patrol agents were staging fake drug busts. These cases helped traffickers who worked for Mexican drug cartels rip off their own organizations. These smugglers notified the cartels that their drug shipments were seized, but they actually kept the shipments for themselves. In turn, these traffickers sold the stolen drugs and kept the profits for themselves without the cartel's knowledge.

This story will be updated as more details emerge. Stay tuned.