A Los Angeles Police Department officer is facing human smuggling charges after federal authorities arrested him during an alleged attempt. At the time of his arrest, the officer was carrying his duty weapon and presented police credentials.

This week, LAPD officer Mambasse Koulabalo Patara tried to drive through a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in Pine Valley, California, with two illegal immigrants from Mexico.

According to the criminal complaint obtained by Breitbart Texas, at the checkpoint, Patara appeared nervous during his exchange with agents, drawing their suspicion. The LAPD officer reportedly claimed to be driving some friends from a casino and they were all U.S. citizens. When agents asked the two men in English about their citizenship, the men appeared confused; however, they understood the inquiries in Spanish.

As part of their investigation, authorities were able to confirm that the two men were not in the country legally and that LAPD officer Patara was carrying his duty weapon in his waistband at the time. The day after the arrest, federal authorities took Patara before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jan M. Adler, who formally notified him that he was facing a charge of “transporting illegal aliens” and ordered set his bond at $10,000. The condition of the bond orders Patara to pay 10 percent cash deposit on the bond.

LAPD Officer Charges w Human Smuggling by ildefonso ortiz on Scribd

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Stephen K. Bannon. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.

Brandon Darby is managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Stephen K. Bannon. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.