Two U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, Jesse Clark Garcia and Diego Bonillo, have been accused of working with an unnamed Mexican drug trafficking organization to allow vehicles loaded with fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine to pass through their inspection lanes at the Otay Mesa and Tecate ports of entry without scrutiny. Prosecutors allege that they “profited handsomely” from their actions, earning tens of thousands of dollars for each drug-laden vehicle they allowed into the U.S.
According to a search warrant affidavit unsealed in federal court in San Diego, Garcia and Bonillo were arrested in May after an investigation led by the FBI San Diego field office’s Border Corruption Task Force. Their arrests came one month before their former CBP colleague, Leonard Darnell George, went on trial for accepting bribes in exchange for allowing smugglers to bring drugs and undocumented migrants through his inspection lane.
The indictment alleges that Garcia and Bonillo combined allowed more than 1,150 pounds of drugs into the U.S. on five occasions between April 2021 and February 2023. The total only accounts for the drugs that authorities later seized. Prosecutors allege that Garcia and Bonillo used their positions to facilitate drug trafficking, often allowing vehicles to pass through their lanes without scrutiny or inspection.
Garcia’s attorney declined to comment, while Bonillo’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment. A third defendant in the case remains a fugitive and is believed to be a CBP officer. Garcia and Bonillo face a minimum of 10 years in prison if convicted.
The investigation into Garcia and Bonillo’s activities began in February 2023, when undercover agents followed two different vehicles that passed through their lanes within about two hours of each other. When the vehicles were stopped, authorities found about 130 pounds of methamphetamine in one and a mixture of cocaine and fentanyl, along with methamphetamine, in the other.
The investigation also revealed that Garcia and Bonillo had often allowed vehicles to pass through their lanes when they were not present or on leave. In August 2023, Garcia was assigned to a pedestrian lane in Tecate when he suddenly asked another officer working in a vehicle inspection lane to switch with him. Moments after the switch, Garcia waved through the border a woman driving a Toyota Camry. Not long after that, Garcia’s shift ended and he headed back toward San Diego on state Route 94, followed closely by the driver of the Camry.
Agents at a Border Patrol checkpoint along the highway allowed Garcia in his own vehicle to pass but stopped the Camry. Inside the car, the agents found more than 475 pounds of cocaine and nearly 9 pounds of fentanyl, according to prosecutors. The Camry’s driver later pleaded guilty to two federal charges and admitted her car was loaded with drugs when it passed through Garcia’s border inspection lane.
The investigation into Garcia and Bonillo’s activities also revealed that they had often allowed vehicles to pass through their lanes when the drivers were known to be smuggling large quantities of drugs. In one case, a woman who frequently went through Garcia’s lane was found to have 130 pounds of methamphetamine in her vehicle.
In another case, a driver who often crossed through Bonillo’s lane was stopped and found to have 120 pounds of cocaine, 82 pounds of methamphetamine, and 71 pounds of fentanyl. The investigation also revealed that Bonillo had tipped off the driver that he might be followed after crossing the border in Otay Mesa.
The case against Garcia and Bonillo is ongoing, with their next court hearing scheduled for late next month. If convicted, they face a minimum of 10 years in prison.
Source: San Diego Union Tribune
