McALLEN — A 35-year-old Mexican national will spend nearly four years in prison in connection with an attempt to smuggle into the country nearly 30 kilos of cocaine.
McALLEN — A 35-year-old Mexican national will spend nearly four years in prison in connection with an attempt to smuggle into the country nearly 30 kilos of cocaine.
U.S. District Judge Randy Crane on Monday sentenced Evelyn Perez-Sauceda to 46 months behind federal prison walls in connection with an attempt to smuggle in bundles of cocaine.
The charge stems from an incident just before 11 a.m. on Feb. 8 when U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers detained Perez at the Anzalduas Port of Entry as she made an attempt to cross into the country, according to the criminal complaint.
Officers inspecting Perez’s 2008 Honda Odyssey were alerted by a K-9 of a possible hit for drugs within the vehicle.
During a secondary inspection and using a scanning device on the vehicle, officers discovered an “anomaly” in the front passenger side of the vehicle where they discovered 20 wrapped bundles.
Inside the bundles, which weighed about 28 kilos in total, officers discovered a white powdery substance later confirmed to be cocaine, the complaint states.
When officers spoke with Perez she stated that her cousin, who was not named in the complaint, ordered her to transport the vehicle over into the U.S.; Perez claimed not to know what drugs were placed in her car.
Monday’s sentencing comes nearly three months after she pleaded guilty to count four of the indictment against her, the selling and distribution of narcotics.
In exchange, the government dropped the remaining three charges against her, including conspiracy to distribute narcotics, attempt/conspiracy and importation of a controlled substance, court records show.
Perez was immediately placed in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service where she will be transferred to a federal bureau of prisons.
