A U.S. border inspector has been arrested on allegations he accepted bribes in exchange for letting loads of cocaine and methamphetamine into the United States.
U.S. prosecutors said Friday that Customs and Border Protection officer Oscar Osbaldo Ortiz-Martinez received $22,000 in cash in exchange for giving free passage to the drug-carrying vehicles at the Calexico port of entry, across from Mexicali, Mexico.
Federal officials say they arrested Ortiz-Martinez as he met with undercover agents posing as drug traffickers who were bringing him an additional $30,000 for allowing a load through Wednesday.
Another man, Victor Manuel Silva, Jr., was also arrested. He is accused of arranging payment of the bribe.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
