SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A San Diego-based U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer pleaded guilty this week to federal drug importation charges for allowing vehicles containing drugs to pass through inspection lanes at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Jesse Clark Garcia pleaded guilty on Tuesday in San Diego federal court to nine counts related to the importation of fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine.
Court documents filed by prosecutors last year cited confidential sources alleging Garcia was paid "tens of thousands of dollars per vehicle he admitted into the United States."
The documents stated Garcia "lives well-above his CBP salary" and referenced his co-ownership of a horse-racing stable, ownership of multiple vehicles, a home in San Diego, a planned ranch that was under construction in Mexico, and purchases of pricey Burberry apparel and items from Louis Vuitton.
Prosecutors allege multiple drivers were informed to drive drug-laden vehicles through particular vehicle lanes of the Tecate Port of Entry at specific times when Garcia was assigned to those lanes.
Garcia is slated to be sentenced in September.
Another local CBP officer, Diego Bonillo, is also charged in the case and accused of letting drivers pass through the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in drug- loaded vehicles. Bonillo is scheduled to go to trial later this month.
Copyright 2025, City News Service, Inc.
