BORDER GUARD ACCUSED OF ACCEPTING BRIBES RELEASED PENDING TRIAL

SEATTLE - A U.S. border guard accused of accepting cash and sexual
favors from a female drug smuggler was released Tuesday on a $20,000
bond, against the wishes of prosecutors.

Federal Magistrate Judge Mary Alice Theiler also agreed to let the
guard, Desmone Bastian, continue living in Surrey, British Columbia,
where he will be monitored pending trial, scheduled for Jan. 2.
Bastian has pleaded not guilty to one count of accepting a bribe and
another of importing controlled substances.

Bastian is accused of accepting an undisclosed amount of money as
well as sexual favors from a female smuggler who told federal agents
that she is also a madam. According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan
Roe, the smuggler claimed that Bastian sometimes showed up at her
house of prostitution wearing his U.S. Customs and Border Protection uniform.

In exchange for the money and favors, he would allow her to drive
into the U.S. from British Columbia with OxyContin pills and
marijuana, Roe said.

Bastian first raised suspicion last March, when he was seen leaving
his post at the Blaine crossing to approach the smuggler's car, which
contained 3,000 OxyContin pills, Roe said.

Investigators combed records and discovered that the woman had
crossed the border numerous times in the past several years, often in
Bastian's lane. He never referred her for a secondary inspection, Roe said.

Bastian's attorney, Michael Nance, argued against detaining him
pending trial, noting that it was not a violent crime. Bastian's wife
and inlaws attended the hearing.