Philadelphia Customs Agent Arrested for Stealing from Deportees
Justin Ford, Philadelphia Police Department mugshot
On February 24th, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Justin Ford met with Philadelphia police to take a prisoner facing deportation into custody and transfer him to York County Prison. But what he didn’t know is that the prisoner was actually an undercover Philadelphia police officer.
And what he also didn’t know was that the $2,000 that the “prisoner” had in his possession was in marked bills. According to Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams, 31-year-old Ford questioned the undercover officer about the cash and eventually returned it to him — well, most of it. Once Ford was done with him, that $2,000 had turned into $1,800.
Investigators followed Ford from York County Prison back to Philadelphia, and when he arrived here, members of the Philadelphia SWAT team apprehended him and found two marked $100 bills in his possession.
“What Mr. Ford did was deplorable,” said DA Williams. “It wasn’t the first time he stole from deportees, and so he will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
Ford, who hails from Stratford, New Jersey, has been charged with theft, receiving stolen property, official oppression, and conspiracy. Bail was set at $25,000.
