Texas cop helps drug traffickers by seizing fake cocaine and marijuana, feds say

A former police officer was found guilty of helping drug traffickers by seizing fake cocaine and marijuana, prosecutors say.

He was just sentenced to prison in the criminal investigation that also led to the arrests of five other law enforcement officers.

Hector Beltran, a former K-9 officer in Edinburg, Texas, partnered with a drug trafficking organization that was ripping off its supplier, according to a news release.

The organization planted bundles of fake drugs for law enforcement officers, including Beltran, to “seize,” officials said. Then the organization showed documents to the supplier indicating the drug had been confiscated by cops.

Beltran seized fake drugs over 10 times, usually in abandoned vehicles, allowing there to be no arrests and no testing of the substances, officials said. Investigators later found the marijuana contained hay, and the fake cocaine had only trace amounts of the drug.

Beltran seized about 600 kilograms of fake marijuana and 168 kilograms of fake cocaine, according to testimony during the trial, officials said.

Beltran denied being part of the scheme. However, a jury found him guilty in July 2019 of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, officials said.

On Wednesday, Beltran was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The investigation also led to the arrest of two U.S. Border Patrol agents, officers in the Harris County Constable’s Office, Houston Police Department, Edcouch Police Department and the former police chief of the La Joya Police Department.

This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Texas cop helps drug traffickers by seizing fake cocaine and marijuana, feds say."