Ten-year Los Angeles Police Department veteran Carlos Quezada, Jr. allegedly drove an SUV with a female passenger riding shotgun as they attempted to pass through the Otay Mesa, California U.S.-Mexico border crossing Saturday night with a Mexican citizen in the trunk. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers used an x-ray like device to further inspect the vehicle, leading to their discovery of the Mexican citizen who had no legal right to enter the country.
The LAPD officer and female passenger were arrested pending charges for attempted alien smuggling. The two were booked into the Metropolitan Correctional Center while awaiting federal charges, which were brought Monday. The Associated Press reports that the LAPD officer is on paid leave for the duration of the investigation.
Both the LAPD officer and female passenger had presented their U.S. passports demonstrating their citizenship as they arrived at the border crossing according to a CBP release.
Quezada is being held on $20,000 bond, reports the AP which also noted that their attorney declined request for comment.
Neither the CBP release nor the AP made mention of the fate of the illegal alien.
Photo: file
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