McALLEN — A Pharr man suspected of aiding the movement of cocaine will be held without bond after a detention hearing Tuesday, according to court records.
Jorge Tavarez, 37, will remain in custody pending his trial related to federal charges stemming from an April 2017 incident involving the transport of cocaine, the complaint filed against him states.
Tavarez was arrested in early May in connection with federal possession, distribution and conspiracy charges related to the movement of more than 10 kilos of cocaine.
The investigation into Tavarez began in November 2017, when Drug Enforcement Administration agents received information from an informant working for them (cooperating defendant) about a load of about 10 kilos of cocaine headed to North Carolina that was subsequently seized in Alabama, court records show.
A few months later, in January, DEA agents met with Tavarez and interviewed him, where he admitted to transporting bricks of cocaine to a man in Mission.
“Tavarez stated that on or about April 2017, he was instructed to drive to a warehouse located on Highway 281 and Owassa Road in Edinburg,” the complaint states.
He told agents that once at the warehouse he was given a cardboard box filled with 10 bricks of cocaine.
“ Tavarez told agents that several days later, he was contacted and told that the cocaine had been seized by authorities in Alabama,” the court record states.
He said he was given a police document purported to show the load’s seizure — but agents said the document was analyzed and determined to be fake, the complaint states.
Tavarez, who appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hacker Tuesday, was denied bond and will remain in custody pending his trial.
Tavarez’s attorney, Carlos A. Garcia of Mission, said he could not comment on his client’s case and declined additional information regarding the case.
