In addition to being charged with bribery and drug trafficking, a 36-year-old Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer has been charged with illegally smuggling four undocumented aliens into the United States.
Emanuel Celedon, 36, remains in custody and is set to make his initial appearance on the new charges before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher dos Santos at 10 a.m., at which time the court will also hold his detention hearing.
Two others, Homero Romero-Hernandez, 30, and Jose Osvaldo Zapata Vasquez, 24, both Mexican nationals illegally residing in the United States, are also expected to make appearances.
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The final person charged, Beatriz Martinez, 20, Cotulla, is set for her initial appearance on Jan. 4, 2024, at 9:40 a.m. before Judge dos Santos.
Celedon had previously worked at the Port of Entry (POE) in Laredo at the time of the offenses.
The superseding indictment, returned Dec. 27, charges Celedon and Martinez with four counts of bringing an undocumented alien to the United States on two separate dates in September and November. Zapata and Romero are charged similarly in three counts.
Celedon was previously indicted Nov. 28 for two counts of bribery and two counts of attempted importation of cocaine.
Those charges allege that, on two separate occasions in October, Celedon accepted U.S. currency in exchange for allowing an individual to transport a substance he believed to be several kilograms of cocaine into the United States from Mexico through the Laredo POE without inspection.
If convicted of the new human smuggling charges, he faces up to 40 years in federal prison. The previous bribery charges carry up to 15 years in prison each and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. A conviction on the cocaine importation charges carries a maximum sentence of up to 40 years and a possible maximum $5 million fine.
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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 Constable Precinct 2, and CBP Laredo Joint Forensic Center. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Bennett and Jennifer Day are prosecuting the case.
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