Arizona Correctional Officer charged for smuggling drugs with his wife and kids

Prosecutors have charged an Arizona Correction Officer for smuggling two dozen kilograms of drugs while with his wife and three kids. 

"This individual not only put his wife and three young children in incredible danger, he put another black mark on every upstanding law enforcement officer who works tirelessly to protect Americans from the very drug dealers he was doing business with," said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. 

According to the Orange County District Attorney's Office, Fernando Urratiaguillen, 34, was arrested in Irvine after officers found 23 kilograms of methamphetamine and one kilogram of heroin inside the vehicle's gas tank on Tuesday. He also served as an Army National Guardsman.   

Twenty-four kilograms is equal to about 53 pounds.   

"The Orange County District Attorney's Office refuses to let drug dealers get away with trafficking illicit drugs across our borders - and we refuse to allow a correctional officer get away with leading a double life making money as a drug trafficker one day and keeping watch over drug dealers behind bars the next.," Spitzer said.  

Investigators do not believe his wife or three kids were aware of the drug smuggling.

Prosecutors have charged Urratiaguillen with two felony counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, two counts of sale or transport of a controlled substance, two felony enhancements of a controlled substance in excess of 20 kilograms and two enhancements of possession of a substance exceeding one kilogram. 

If convicted, Urratiaguillen can face a maximum sentence of 21 years and four months. He has pleaded not guilty. Urratiaguillen is being held on $3 million bail.