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Former BP agent sentenced
Published December 1, 2009
United States Attorney John E. Murphy announced that in Del Rio Monday afternoon, 25-year-old Raquel Esquivel, a former Del Rio sector Border Patrol agent, was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana.
In addition, United States District Judge Alia Ludlum ordered that Esquivel pay a $10,000 fine and be placed under supervised release for a period of five years after completing her prison term.
In April, a federal jury found Esquivel guilty of the drug charge. Evidence presented during trial revealed that in 2007, Esquivel joined a drug trafficking conspiracy and provided the other members of the scheme with sensitive law enforcement information in order to facilitate their successful smuggling of marijuana into the United States.
Prior to transporting shipments of marijuana on Oct. 8-9, Oct. 29-30, and Dec. 1, 2007, individuals would contact Esquivel who would give them specific information regarding any ongoing law enforcement operations on the Pecos river and local highways all in an effort to evade detection by law enforcement.
Esquivel also provided information to organizers on specific techniques and strategies utilized by Border Patrol so that co-conspirators would look less suspicious when transporting marijuana on the Pecos river.
This case was investigated by agents with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement–Office of Professional Responsibility, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement–Office of Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Assistant United States Attorneys Rick Bennett and Jay Combs prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.
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