OFF THE WIRE
Other members of 'toughest' sheriff's staff arrested in drug smuggling case
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, right, with Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, announce at a news conference that a Maricopa County Sheriff's deputy and two detention officers have been arrested in drug and human smuggling cases, Tuesday.
PHOENIX — Three employees of America's self-proclaimed toughest sheriff have been arrested in a drug and human trafficking case, authorities said Tuesday.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said a deputy and two female detention officers at the sheriff's largest jail facility were among 12 people taken into custody and accused of being in a Phoenix-based international drug smuggling ring.
One of the detention officers, Marcella Hernandez, told authorities that she is eight-months pregnant with the child of Francisco Arce-Torres, the alleged drug ring's leader who court documents say is also a member of the Mexican Sinaloa cartel.
Deputy Ruben Navarette, Hernandez, and detention officer Sylvia Najera face felony charges. Seven other sheriff's employees were being investigated for their possible involvement.
County Attorney Bill Montgomery said he believed none of the three had an attorney.
Navarette admitted to passing information about the sheriff's crime-prevention operations to the group, Arpaio said.
The deputy also was accused of being part of a separate human trafficking ring that smuggled illegal immigrants from Arizona to California.
'Human nature'
Detectives searching Navarette's home found two illegal immigrants inside, Arpaio said. Navarette, who was once assigned to sheriff's human smuggling unit and was cross-trained as a federal immigration agent, regularly smuggled loads of illegal immigrants, Arpaio said.
"We have enough violence without having moles in my own organization that put my deputies in danger," Arpaio said.
"Every organization, you're going to find some people who do wrong," he added. "It's human nature."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43164223/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts