An Edinburg man who avoided a federal trial was sentenced to a more than 8-year prison term for trying to smuggle drugs, records show.
U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez sentenced Brandon Ryan Hayden on Tuesday — more than a year after he was arrested attempting to enter the country at the Progreso Port of Entry with meth and heroin inside the vehicle he was driving, according to the criminal complaint filed against him.
On Jan. 6, 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers referred Hayden for a secondary inspection at the port of entry.
During the secondary inspection, an X-Ray of Hayden’s vehicle revealed anomalies in the rear that ultimately led to the discovery of 110 packages.
“The K-9 alerted to the presence of narcotics emanating from the vehicle, and the X-Ray showed multiple anomalies in the rear portion of the truck,” the complaint stated. “CBPOs located four trap door compartments in the bed of the F-150 and extracted approximately 110 packages of a crystal substance that later tested positive for methamphetamine, and 7 packages of a brown powder substance that later tested positive for heroin.”
In total, officers seized 59.64 kilos of meth and 8.22 kilos of heroin, the record show.
Hayden initially told agents he was unaware of the drugs that were discovered inside the trap doors and noted in the complaint that he made “several inconsistent statements” regarding what he was going to do once in the country, the complaint stated.
“After making these statements, Hayden informed agents that he was going to tell them the truth, and that he was supposed to deliver the vehicle back to the (person) who had provided it to him,” the document stated. “Additionally, agents located messages on Hayden’s phone indicating that prior to the seizure he was conversing with that (person) about transporting narcotics.”
Hayden, in exchange for the dismissal of three charges against him, agreed to plead guilty to one count of import of a controlled substance in May 2020, records show.
In addition to the 97-month prison term, Hayden will have to serve three years of supervised release when he completes his prison sentence.
