The Border Patrol agent and Arizona Department of Corrections officer indicted last week on suspicion of participating in a drug-smuggling conspiracy both pleaded not guilty to the allegations against them Thursday in U.S. District Court in Phoenix.

Agent Ivhan Herrera Chiang, 29, and Corrections Officer Michael Lopez Garcia, 28, were accused last week of conspiring to smuggle drugs from Mexico into the United States from September 2010 through January 2012.

Prosecutors allege that Herrera used sensitive information he learned through his position with a smuggling-interdiction group to coordinate drug runs and that Lopez personally smuggled drugs over the border and sold drugs to an undercover agent.

Most of Thursday’s 30-minute hearing was spent discussing the prospects for Lopez’s release after a pretrial report recommended Lopez be freed on bond.

Lopez lives in Mexico and commuted to work at the state prison complex near Yuma. U.S. Magistrate David Duncan said Lopez’s lack of ties to the community and the ease with which he could assimilate in Mexico made it difficult to see how a bond would help guarantee his presence at trial. Duncan denied Lopez bond.

Herrera’s detention hearing was delayed until next week to allow for a new attorney to be appointed.

Duncan set a trial date in March.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 26th, 2012 at 9:37 pm and is filed under Arizona Republic News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.