A former supervisory officer with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was recently sentenced to 7.5 years in federal prison for his role in alien smuggling and for accepting a bribe.
The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Lawrence Madrid, the former officer, was found guilty on May 26 by a federal jury on charges of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for financial gain, aiding and abetting along smuggling for financial gain, and two substantive counts of accepting a bribe.
From Aug. 2010 to Sept. 2011, Madrid allegedly conspired with other individuals to encourage undocumented aliens to enter the United States without proper authorization or documentation. Madrid allegedly used his authority as an officer with CBP to allow aliens to be smuggled into the country through various ports of entry in El Paso.
The federal jury also found that on two separate occasions, Madrid accepted money to allow an illegal alien to enter the country through the pedestrian lanes of a port of entry.
In addition to his sentence, Madrid must serve three years of supervised release.
Two other individuals related to the case, Madrid’s wife Odet and an illegal alien named Maria Guadalupe Jaime-Hernandez, have active warrants out for their arrests.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General also participated in the case.