A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer was arrested and charged with allegedly helping smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States to traffic drugs in states that include Texas and Louisiana.

This is according to a statement that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas published last week.

“According to court documents, between on or about Dec. 21, 2023 and Feb. 5, 2025, Manuel Perez Jr., 32, of El Paso, allegedly smuggled and attempted to smuggle undocumented noncitizens into the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain,” according to the Department of Justice (DOJ) statement.

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“The indictment alleges that, in multiple instances, Perez admitted a vehicle driven by an undocumented noncitizen at the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry in El Paso as part of human smuggling operations. Additionally, Perez Jr. allegedly conspired to possess a substance containing at least 5 kg of cocaine from on or about Nov. 1, 2019 through and including Feb. 5, 2025, to distribute throughout Texas, Louisiana, North Carolina and elsewhere.”

The DOJ charged Perez with one count of conspiracy to bring aliens to the United States for financial gain, three counts of bringing aliens to the United States for financial gain, and one count of conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute. If convicted, he faces up to five years in federal prison for the human smuggling conspiracy charge, three to 10 years in prison for each of the three additional human smuggling charges, and 10 years to life for the drug trafficking charge.

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CBP officers enforce America’s border security and immigration laws alongside members of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

During his term, former President Joe Biden carved out billions of taxpayer dollars to process aliens illegally crossing the border into the United States more quickly.

Special thanks to Warhammer’s Wife for proofreading this story before publication to make certain there were no misspellings, grammatical errors or other embarrassing mistakes and/or typos. Follow Warhammer on Twitter @Real_Warhammer or on Facebook. Read Warhammer’s stories on RVIVR by clicking here.