HOUSTON – A former deportation officer entered a guilty plea to charges of laundering money while working for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Christopher Washington Toral, 49, of Spring, began working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 2008 and was assigned to a processing center in Conroe.
Recommended Videos
Over a two-month period in 2023, prosecutors said Toral agreed to transport $700,000 in drug proceeds under the protective cover of his position as a federal law enforcement officer.
As part of an undercover operation, Toral reportedly agreed to transport a black bag containing $200,000 in cash from Dallas to Houston in February 2023. He believed this money was revenue from the sale of illegal narcotics. Later that same month, Toral repeated the trip, delivering an additional $200,000.
In March 2023, Toral agreed to transport $300,000 from Newark, New Jersey, to Houston on a commercial flight. The money was represented to be the proceeds of drug trafficking. While carrying the illicit gains, Toral bypassed airport security and Transportation Security Administration checkpoints by exploiting his law enforcement position.
Toral did all this in exchange for cash payments.
U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison accepted the plea and set sentencing for May 15.
At that time, Toral faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $1 million maximum fine.