Borderland Beat: Former Houston "Officer of the Year" Arrested by FBI for Cartel Drug Trafficking

Feds Indict Houston PD ‘Officer of the Year’ for Trafficking Cocaine for Los Zetas Cartel

Borderland Beat posted by DD Republished from material at New York Daily News, The Free Thought Project, and from news video by ABCNews Channel 13, Houston.

Noe Juarez, former "Officer of the Year"

A former Houston Police Department ‘Officer of the Year’ award winner, Noe Juarez, was arrested this past Tuesday morning by the FBI during "roll call" after he reported for work at the central command station at 61 Riesner, in Houston. The FBI and DEA were working together in an alleged federal drug probe, serving a warrant out of New Orleans.

The Houston cop once recognized as the city’s officer of the year led a double life as a cocaine trafficker with ties to a notorious Mexican drug cartel, authorities claim.

Sealed indictments were opened on Wed. that showed federal charges of conspiracy to possess firearms connected with a drug trafficking offense and conspiracy to distribute five or more kilos of cocaine. Court documents accuse him of conspiring with Sergio Grimaldo, the brother of a convicted cartel boss, to distribute five kilos of cocaine in southeastern Louisiana.

His co-defendant, Grimaldo, 32, was previously indicted along with his brother, Efrain Grimaldo, a member of Los Zetas, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Louisiana confirmed in an email, according to The NY Daily News. Efrain was convicted of drug conspiracy charges in February 2014 and sentenced to 33 years in prison. The case against Sergio Grimaldo, who is in custody, remains open, and Juarez was named as a co-defendant in the indictment originally filed under seal on April 2, records show.
The charges against Juarez, unsealed on Wednesday, tell little about his alleged role, but police sources told KTRK the former hero cop worked as a hired gun for a drug cartel, escorting narcotics shipments across state borders.

If convicted on all charges he faces up to life in prison and a $10,000,000 fine.

Court documents accuse Juarez of beginning his drug trafficking operation in 2012.

The indictment came out of New Orleans, where investigators have been working in conjunction with Houston authorities since 2014, according to court records. There are a number people, including law enforcement officers, being investigated, but the FBI wouldn't comment at this time.
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Borderland Beat Reporter dd Posted at 12:40 PM 30 comments: