Border officer pleads guilty after living ‘well above salary’ due to drug bribes

A port of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border. Photo credit: OnScene.TV A San Diego-based U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer has pleaded guilty to federal charges for allowing vehicles containing drugs to pass through the U.S.- Mexico border. Jesse Clark Garcia pleaded guilty on Tuesday in San Diego federal court to nine counts related to the import of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine. Court documents filed by prosecutors last year cited confidential sources alleging Garcia was paid “tens of thousands of dollars per vehicle he admitted into the United States.” The documents stated Garcia “lives well-above his CBP salary” and referenced his co-ownership of a horse-racing stable, ownership of multiple vehicles, a home in San Diego, a planned ranch that was under construction in Mexico and purchases of pricey Burberry apparel and items from Louis Vuitton. Prosecutors allege multiple drivers were informed to drive drug-laden vehicles through particular lanes of the Tecate Port of Entry at specific times when Garcia was assigned to those lanes. Garcia is slated to be sentenced in September. Another local CBP officer, Diego Bonillo, is also charged in the case and accused of letting drivers pass through the Otay Mesa Port of Entry with drugs. Bonillo is scheduled to go to trial later this month.