Former US agent held over cocaine
A former high-ranking US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who was stationed in Mexico before retiring in 2007 has been arrested on suspicion of cocaine smuggling, authorities said.
Richard Padilla Cramer was arrested at his home in Green Valley, Arizona, 25 miles (40 kilometres) south of Tucson.
He later appeared before a federal judge, who denied bail.
The charges stem from a US Drug Enforcement Agency investigation dating back to 2006.
In a criminal complaint, authorities say Cramer helped a large-scale drug trafficking organisation move cocaine into the US.
The complaint says that Cramer provided members of a drug trafficking organisation with information from confidential law enforcement databases and invested $400,000 (£245,000) in a 300-pound (136-kilogram) shipment of cocaine that was seized in June 2007.
The case is being handled by the US Attorney's Office in Miami, where federal prosecutors say the majority of the acts occurred. Authorities say Cramer will be extradited to Florida.
Cramer was formerly in charge of the ICE office in Nogales in southern Arizona, according to agency spokesman Vincent Picard, who did not know how long Cramer worked there.
"It's a criminal complaint, not a conviction," Mr Picard said.