Former CBP officer pleads guilty to smuggling migrants, receiving bribes

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations.
Courtesy/U.S. Customs and Border Protection

LMTonline
By Cesar G. Rodriguez, ,LAREDO MORNING TIMES
March 12, 2024

A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer has admitted to smuggling migrants and receiving bribes to allow cocaine through a Laredo international bridge, authorities said.

Emanuel Isac Celedon, 36, of Laredo, pleaded guilty on Monday to four counts of bringing a migrant into the United States through the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge.

In a separate case, he also admitted to bribery and attempted importation of cocaine for taking money to allow what he thought was cocaine to cross into the United States from Mexico, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

U.S. District Judges Diana Saldaña and Marina Garcia Marmolejo will sentence Celedon at later dates on the smuggling and bribery cases, respectively. He will remain in custody pending those sentence hearings.

Celadon faces up to 10 to 15 years for the human smuggling cases, 15 years for the bribery and 40 years for the cocaine charges. He also faces hundreds of thousands in possible fines, authorities said.

The Department of Homeland Security-Office of Inspector General, Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations and CBP-Office of Professional Responsibility conducted the investigation with assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety, Border Patrol, Webb County Precinct 2 Constable’s Office and CBP Laredo Joint Forensic Center.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSA) Jennifer Day and Richard Bennett are prosecuting both cases. AUSA Brian Bajew handled the plea on Monday.

“As part of the smuggling conspiracy, Celedon provided his daily lane assignment to conspirators to allow entry without inspection or documentation of passengers. This occurred on at least nine occasions between September and November 2023,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

“Authorities also discovered that during at least two of these smuggling events, Celedon falsely input information into a CBP database in order to avoid sending the driver to mandatory secondary inspection.”

Further investigation revealed that Celedon asked others to relay information about his role to Mexican smugglers in attempts to reassure them he was doing his part to facilitate the organization’s human smuggling efforts, authorities said.

When arrested, law enforcement seized $1,980 from Celedon. He then admitted those were proceeds from human smuggling, according to authorities.

“In a separate case, Celedon agreed to smuggle what he believed were kilograms of cocaine from Mexico through his duty lane at the Laredo (bridge) on two occasions in October 2023,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

“Celedon sought contacts within the cartels who would pay him to smuggle cocaine through the (bridge). The undercover investigation revealed Celedon expressed his interest in smuggling cocaine for payment, provided his duty schedule and instructed others to direct vehicles/ to his lane so he could allow them to safely cross into the United States.”

Celedon received a payment of $6,000 after the vehicles with sham cocaine safely crossed the bridge, authorities said.