Border Patrol ex-agent gets 6-year prison term for aiding smugglers

TUCSON, Ariz. — A former U.S. Border Patrol agent who admitted helping traffickers smuggle drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border has been sentenced to six years in prison on drug and bribery convictions.

A federal judge in Tucson on Friday imposed the prison term on 50-year-old Jose Antonio Yanez of Pirtleville, a small community near Douglas. The judge also ordered Yanez to pay restitution of over $340,000 for salary received while conspiring with traffickers.

Yanez previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute marijuana, receiving a bribe, and Importation of a Schedule IV Controlled Substance. Yanez was also ordered to pay $340,434 in restitution to United States Border Patrol for repayment of salary received while conspiring with traffickers.