MCALLEN, Texas — A U.S. Border Patrol supervisor has been accused of helping a drug smuggling group steal drugs from a Mexican cartel by setting up a fake drug seizure.
Agents with Homeland Security Investigations arrested Eduardo Bazan, a supervisor with the U.S. Border Patrol as part of an investigation into the cartel linked drug smuggling groups that operate in the border area known as the Rio Grand Valley.
Court documents obtained by Breitbart Texas revealed that on February 18, 2007, the U.S Border Patrol Agent Eduardo “Eddie” Bazan took part in a staged drug seizure where he reportedly seized 66 kilos of either fake or diluted cocaine. In exchange for his role in the seizure, Bazan received $8,000. Bazan is the son of Eduardo “Walo” Bazan, a former Hidalgo County Constable who was convicted of felony theft.
The case went unknown for years until October 2013 when HSI agents began to investigate the theft of drugs by drug smuggling groups who would use law enforcement officials to stage false drug raids or seizure in order to fool the owners of the drugs into thinking their product had been seized. The local drug smuggling group would then sell the drugs for a profit without having to pay for them to the Mexican drug cartels.
Breitbart Texas has reported extensively on the widespread infiltration of Mexican drug cartels in South Texas where they have been able to get cooperation from law enforcement officials at the local and federal level. Individuals with ties to Mexican drug lords have included previous sheriff’s, local police officers, sheriff’s deputies, U.S. Border Patrol agents and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.
As part of their investigation into Bazan, HSI used informants and defendants to identify one of the fake seizures that had been carried with the alleged help of Bazan, court documents revealed. Following that new information, HSI agents interviewed Bazan on October 31, about the seizure. During that interview, Bazan denied any involvement in the scheme. Agents the tracked down an incident report that they used to determine Bazan’s role in the case. During a second interview on November 1, Bazan told agents that he had played a role in the fake seizure and had been paid for it, court records revealed.
Following Bazan’s arrest, U.S. Border Patrol RGV Sector Chief Manuel Padilla provided Breitbart Texas with the following statement:
An overwhelming majority of Border Patrol agents perform their duties with honor and distinction. Each and every Border Patrol agent has a responsibility to the United States and its citizens to place loyalty to the Constitution and its laws and ethical principles above private gain.
That duty should be carried out at all times with the highest degree of integrity and professionalism. Border Patrol agents who disregard that oath and instead choose to violate the trust of the citizens they swore to protect will be held accountable.
Eddie Bazan by ildefonso ortiz on Scribd
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project and you can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.
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