Border Patrol agent pleads guilty in drug smuggling case

Un EE.UU.. Border Patrol agent pleaded guilty Thursday to smuggling backpacks he believed contained drugs across the border. Appearing in a federal courtroom in San Diego, Noe Lopez pleaded guilty to attempted distribution of methamphetamine and attempted distribution of cocaine. He faces a possible minimum sentence of 10 years for each of the two counts and a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 8 before U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw. Lopez, a 10-year Border Patrol veteran who worked out of the Imperial Beach station, was arrested Dec. 14 as a result of a two-month undercover sting. According to court documents, Lopez struck up a friendship with a man he met at a party and later began communicating with through an online messaging app. During their conversations, Lopez bragged about how he could smuggle drugs left at strategic points along the border fence and told the man he would do it for a fee. Leer más…