Arizona Border Patrol Agent admits to helping smuggle 9,000 lbs of marijuana

An Arizona Border Patrol agent has pleaded guilty to using his position to help smuggle thousands of pounds of marijuana.

The Arizona Daily Star reports a plea agreement filed April 10 in U.S. District Court in Tucson says Jose Antonio Yanez faces up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to two drug-smuggling charges and one bribery charge.

The agreement says Yanez, who worked in Douglas and Naco, agreed to re-pay the Border Patrol his salary and other pay for the years 2014-2016, worth $340,000. He also agreed to pay a $16,000 fine for the bribes he accepted.

Yanez didn’t dispute the government could prove the vehicles he allowed in contained 9,000 pounds of marijuana.

The Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector and Yanez’s attorney didn’t immediately respond to inquiries from the Star.