Judge sentences smugglers who planted drugs in vehicles
This July 27, 2010, file photo shows a Border Patrol agent checks the identification card of a bus driver at a checkpoint in Amado. A judge who says he repeatedly heard defendants over the years deny knowledge of drugs found in their cars says that the despicable conduct of three leaders of a smuggling ring now makes him wonder whether the denials were true. U.S. District Judge Raner C. Collins on Sept. 9, 2019, sentenced the smuggling ring leaders, who had pleaded guilty, to prison terms ranging from 8 to 10 years. (Jae C. Hong/AP, file)