Houston Air Marshalls Charged with Smuggling Cocaine and Cash for Third Party, page 1

Two Federal Air Marshalls who used their positions to facilitate the clandestine transport of coc aine, illicit money, and forged government documents, have been charged by Federal authorities. They will appear before a magistrate today, and prosecutors have said they will seek to hold the pair without bail until the case goes to trial.

abcnews.go.com
According to allegations contained in the criminal complaint, DHS began investigating Nguyen in late November 2005 after receiving a tip that he had been involved in selling narcotics.

On Dec. 21, 2005, in exchange for $10,000 in cash, Nguyen allegedly bypassed airport security with a package containing a total of $25,000 in narcotics proceeds and fraudulent government documents. The affidavit alleges the proceeds were distributed in two envelopes, one containing $15,000 and the other with $10,000. Nguyen is accused of bypassing airport security with the package, and then delivering it to the witness

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Well, another case of power corrupting people. When ordinary folks get put on a pedestal and start thinking they're above the law, bad things happen. These two are relatively petty criminals, but they're just the tip of the iceberg. Abuses of power are a serious problem in the current, security heavy environment.

We trust a few people to have increased power, and as a result they sometimes go off the rails. This is why oversight is so critical. I for one am glad the DHS isn't impeeding the investigation (yet). They've said that it's important to retain the integrity of the DHS and insure accountability, and I couldn't agree more. Now we'll have to wait and see if they make good on their promises.

Many will remember incidents all throughout the 90's involving us servicemen trafficking drugs along the southern border, and in areas of South America. Those cases were rarely brought to conclusion, witnesses had a habit of disappearing, and defendants were protected from on high. It sets a terribly bad example, when the ones tasked with upholding the law are the best equipped to break it.