Former Texas Deputy Sentenced for Aiding Drug Traffickers By Staging Bogus Drug Busts

A former deputy with the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office has been sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for providing fake tips that led authorities to bogus drug busts, helping a local drug trafficking group operate undetected in the southern Texas border region.

Baldemar Cardenas, 39, was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine, per Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery. The McAllen resident was a deputy at the time of the offense.

Court documents revealed that the former deputy collaborated with a group of traffickers who sold high-quality cocaine. The trafficking group would manufacture bundles of fake, or "sham," cocaine, and Cardenas would then tip law enforcement to seize the fake drugs. This, in turn, allowed the criminal group to sell the pure cocaine elsewhere without police interference.

By doing this, Cardenas and his co-conspirators were able to keep and sell the real cocaine while making it appear that law enforcement was seizing large amounts of drugs—when, in reality, they were only confiscating fake, low-purity cocaine.

In January 2020, Cardenas tipped local law enforcement to conduct a seizure of approximately 33 kilograms of fake cocaine bundles in Mission, Texas. The then-deputy falsely claimed a confidential source had provided the information. The bundles were taken to a laboratory, where test results revealed a cocaine purity level of only 1.5%.

Cardenas pleaded guilty to his role in the drug trafficking scheme on April 1, 2022. He remained on bond and voluntarily surrendered to a federal prison facility.