People smuggling

EX-CBP officer gets prison in immigrant smuggling

A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection supervisor convicted of taking bribes to allow undocumented immigrants to cross the border into El Paso was sentenced to 7½ years in prison on Friday in federal court, officials said.

Lawrence Madrid, 54, who had been with CBP for 20 years, was found guilty in May by a jury in U.S. District Court on immigrant smuggling and bribery charges, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Madrid's wife, Odet Madrid Corchado, 39, is considered a fugitive after she didn't show up to trial in the case, officials said. She faces charges of immigrant smuggling and bribery of a public official.