Mexican Officials Charged with Bribing U.S. Agent Over Drugs

Ramon Robles Cota, 29, Sonoyta's public safety director, and officer Julio Cesar Lozano Lopez, 28, were ordered held in custody after an initial appearance before a U.S. magistrate in Tucson on charges of bribing a public official and aiding and abetting, as well as conspiracy to possess and distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana.

In a complaint filed by the U.S. attorney's office, the two were accused of seeking the unidentified agent's help in importing and transporting marijuana into this country. Authorities wouldn't reveal which agency the officer works for.

The charges stemmed from a series of meetings that began in January, when Robles allegedly approached the U.S. agent, U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton's office said.

``At its root, corruption begins with the belief that public servants can be bought,'' Charlton said. ``This case serves notice on those who hold that belief that we are watching them and will vigorously prosecute them.''

The first meeting on Jan. 5 allegedly occurred in Sonoyta, Mexico, south of Lukeville, Ariz. The next meeting, involving both Robles and Lozano and the American agent, took place Feb. 17 in Gila Bend.

Details supporting the complaint gave this account:

Robles offered to pay the agent if he allowed vehicles carrying marijuana to cross the Arizona border near Menager's Dam on the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation.

A third meeting was held Feb. 27 in Tucson, with Robles talking to the U.S. agent while Lozano acted as a bodyguard.

Robles allegedly said he worked for a drug organization that transports about 60 vehicle loads of marijuana across the border near Menager's Dam each month.

But he allegedly also told the agent that the organization needed the agent's assistance to clear the border for two hours to allow it to bring in vehicles with a semitrailer's worth of marijuana.

Robles allegedly said the smuggling organization would pay the agent $25,000 per load cleared through the border, and that he also would be paid $100,000 in advance by Robles at yet another meeting.

At a March 15 meeting in a Tucson parking lot, Robles climbed into the agent's vehicle and allegedly gave him a plastic shopping bag containing $80,020, as well as a radio with which to communicate with the drug operators, the complaint said.

Finally, the Sonoyta official agreed to meet the U.S. agent again in Gila Bend to give him a new radio and talk about moving the drugs across the border.

Before the meeting, Robles and Lozano were stopped by an Arizona Department of Public Safety vehicle. Two hand-held radios, allegedly of the style that the agent had been promised, were found in their pickup.

Conviction could bring up to a 15-year prison sentence and $250,000 fine on the bribery charge and a life sentence and $4 million fine on the drug charge.