Border Patrol Agent Sent to Prison for Helping Steal Cocaine

MCALLEN, Texas — A federal judge sentenced a U.S. Border Patrol for his part in a ruse to steal drugs. The former long-serving agent pleaded guilty after he helped carry out a fake drug seizure in order to hide the theft of 66 kilograms of cocaine.

During a sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Randy Crane sentenced 49-year-old Eduardo “Eddie” Bazan to a two-year prison term and a three-year term of supervised release. Bazan pleaded guilty in June to one count of making false statements in regards to a drug seizure.

Officials arrested Bazan in November 2016 after he confessed to agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that he had lied about the chain of events that took place during a 2007 drug seizure, Breitbart Texas reported.  Officials connected the case against the agent to the theft of 66 kilograms of cocaine that had been diluted and then seized in a fake seizure. The drugs had reportedly been switched for a diluted product, which was then seized by Bazan to hide the theft.

The case against Bazan came from an HSI informant who provided testimony in 2013 about a group of drug dealers that had been stealing from cartel smugglers by making it seem like the product was seized by law enforcement.

Initially, Bazan told the HSI agents that during the seizure, he tried to run after various smugglers but was unable to catch them. He returned to see other agents seizing the drugs from the vehicle. One day later, Bazan admitted he staged the seizure. He arrived at the scene where the vehicle had been abandoned and pretended to run into the brush–creating the appearance of a chase. For his part, Bazan the drug dealer paid him $8,000.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Stephen K. Bannon.  You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.

Brandon Darby is managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Stephen K. Bannon. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.