Border Agent Sentenced in Drug Smuggling

DEL RIO, Texas (AP) _ A former Border Patrol agent convicted of helping drug traffickers safely smuggle marijuana has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Raquel Esquivel was sentenced Monday in a Del Rio federal court, seven months after a jury found the 25-year-old guilty of conspiracy with intent to distribute more than a ton of pot.

Prosecutors say Esquivel tipped drug traffickers in 2007 about authorities stationed along the Pecos River, and provided guidance about how to avoid getting caught by Border Patrol agents.

Esquivel had served in the Border Patrol less than a year.

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