A 33-year-old Mexican citizen will spend five years in federal prison for trying to smuggle a little more than 10 pounds of fentanyl and nearly 95 pounds of cocaine hidden in the floor of a trailer importing limes.
U.S. District Judge Randy Crane handed down the sentence Thursday for Nestor Carbajal-Alavarez, who pleaded guilty April 19, 2021.
Carbajal arrived at the Pharr port of entry Jan. 29, 2021, with a shipment of limes and was referred to a secondary inspection because he was a first-time importer, according to the criminal complaint.
During that inspection, a non-intrusive image scan revealed anomalies in the trailer floor near the fifth wheel of the landing gear, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
CBP officers drilled through the floor of the trailer and discovered a white powdery substance that tested positive for the narcotics.
In all, CBP removed 40 packages from the trailer’s floor bed, with 36 containing cocaine and four containing fentanyl.
Carbajal told investigators he knew drugs were in the trailer, but he didn’t know the amount.
According to the complaint, he said he would off-load the limes in McAllen before dropping the trailer off at a gas station where an unknown person would pick it up.
In a news release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas said Carbajal’s attorneys argued for a minimal sentence because he was only a courier who did not know much about the overall drug trafficking scheme, while federal prosecutors contended the load was substantial and could have potentially harmed many people.
Federal prosecutors said the fentanyl and cocaine was valued at more than $1 million.
In exchange for his guilty plea, the government dismissed three other drug charges against the man.
