A Border Patrol agent working out of the Imperial Beach station was arrested Wednesday on accusations of picking up drug-laden backpacks at the border fence for traffickers in exchange for bribes.

Noe Lopez, a 10-year veteran of the agency, is charged with attempted distribution of methamphetamine and cocaine and receiving a bribe by a public official.

“The U.S. Border Patrol stresses honor and integrity in every aspect of its mission,” the Border Patrol said in a statement Thursday. “We do not tolerate misconduct on or off duty and will fully cooperate with all investigations of alleged unlawful conduct by our personnel.”

Lopez, 36, is on unpaid leave.


The complaint describes two instances of Lopez picking up and delivering backpacks that had been left for him at the border fence in San Diego County — transactions that were part of an undercover sting by the FBI’s Border Corruption Task Force.

A confidential source told authorities that Lopez had befriended him in late October and began communicating via WhatsApp, a cellphone texting program, according to a probable cause affidavit attached to the complaint, written by FBI Special Agent Carla Croft.

Lopez told the source he was able to help smuggle drugs and offered to do so for his new friend for a fee, the complaint says.

In a series of conversations, Lopez allegedly described how he could retrieve backpacks full of drugs at certain spots along the U.S.-Mexico fence while on duty and then deliver them to a safe location at a later time.


Lopez showed the source two spots in particular that he prefers on a Google map, including a bridge near a water treatment facility, according to the complaint.

On Oct. 25, Lopez then drove the source along the fence, pointing out various drop-off spots, and offered to help smuggle drugs for $1,000 to $2,000 per backpack, the complaint states.

The source, who was cooperating with law enforcement, recorded a conversation with Lopez on Nov. 23 in which the agent agreed to accept $500 per pound of methamphetamine during a smuggling run, the complaint states. Lopez then showed the source a black backpack as an example of what could be used.

Lopez called the source on Nov. 30 saying he was at Walmart buying backpacks, then met with him later in the day, when price was discussed, the complaint says. They settled on $1,000 per kilogram of cocaine, and Lopez ended the meeting by giving the source three backpacks.


The first retrieval was to occur Dec. 6. Lopez called the source the day before, saying he’d be on duty but that his location wasn’t near a good drop-off spot, the complaint says.

But Lopez was able to switch locations with a female agent who had been assigned near the bridge.

The source told Lopez that there would be 6 pounds of meth in the backpack. Communications continued via WhatsApp to coordinate the transaction.

Law enforcement agents dropped a backpack containing a substance that would appear to be meth at the desired spot and Lopez picked it up, placing it in his Border Patrol vehicle, the complaint states.


After his shift, Lopez met the source in his personal Chevy Yukon at a Chula Vista strip mall and gave him the backpack, according to the complaint.

The next day, the two met at a restaurant in Chula Vista’s Eastlake neighborhood. Lopez was paid $3,000 for his services and offered to help again the next day, as he was working in a good area for drop-offs known as Goat Canyon.

On Dec. 8, Lopez told the source that he’d placed a cola bottle on the fence to mark where the drugs should be dropped. Agents again left a backpack that Lopez believed to contain 7 kilograms of cocaine, and he picked it up and delivered it, according to the complaint.

The following day, Lopez was paid $7,000 for his efforts during a meeting at another strip mall, the complaint states.


During Lopez’s initial appearance in San Diego federal court Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman argued that he be detained because he was a flight risk. A detention hearing has been set to discuss the matter on Tuesday.

The judge appointed an attorney to represent Lopez.

Lopez is the third local federal agent to be arrested on corruption allegations in recent months.

On Nov. 30, Tyrone Duren, a Homeland Security Investigations agent who quit last year amid the investigation into him, was arrested on suspicion of stealing drug money from traffickers and laundering the cash through real estate transactions and banks.


In September, Customs and Border Protection Officer Jose Luis Cota was arrested on suspicion of allowing a woman to repeatedly smuggle unauthorized immigrants through his lane at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, in exchange for cash bribes and sexual favors.

RELATED

Mexican federal authorities are reporting that the Sinaloa Cartel is behind two clandestine tunnels — one of them completed — whose entrances were discovered west of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @kristinadavis