A Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office deputy found himself on the other side of the law after being arrested in an undercover sting operation.
Undercover officers arrested Deputy Albert Cortez on a possession of cocaine charge early Tuesday morning.
Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño reported that Internal Affairs Office and his agency’s Undercover Drug Unit made the arrest.
Sheriff Treviño said Deputy Cortez was off duty when met with undercover officers outside an Aziz convenience store off FM 495 and Cesar Chavez Road in Alamo around 1 a.m. Tuesday.
Investigators arrested Cortez after he allegedly accepted the delivery of 2 grams of cocaine for personal use.
Cortez appeared before Hidalgo County Pct. 4-1 Justice of the Peace Charlie Espinoza on Tuesday morning where he was issued a $10,000 personal recognizance bond.
Sheriff Treviño reported that Cortez was fired shortly after he was arraigned.
“The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office is not only proactive in all of our policing strategies, but also in keeping our employees accountable for their actions,” Sheriff Treviño said in a statement. “We will continue to purge those employees that are not committed to serving our community in the honorable manner that is expected.”
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