Brownsville man gets nearly six years in federal prison for cocaine smuggling

A Brownsville man who admitted he was being paid to smuggle cocaine from Mexico into the United States has been sentenced to almost six years in federal prison.

Oziel Trevino Jr. appeared Thursday before U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. who sentenced him to 70 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Trevino pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 22.35 pounds or 10.14 kilograms of cocaine on May 5, 2022, court records reflect.

Authorities said anomalies to the front passenger side of a Ford Fiesta led to the discovery of 22 pounds of cocaine Trevino tried to smuggle from Mexico into the U.S.

According to a Feb. 22, 2022, federal criminal complaint, Treviño confessed to authorities he was going to be paid for smuggling the cocaine into the U.S.

The complaint states that on Feb. 11, 2022, Treviño was driving a Ford Fiesta across the bridge and was ordered to undergo a secondary inspection. It was during this second inspection U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers noticed anomalies to the passenger side of the vehicle, the complaint stated.

Upon further investigation of the car, the officers discovered 10 bundles of cocaine which weighed 10.14 kilograms, or 22 pounds.

During a post-Miranda interview with Homeland Security Investigations agents, Treviño admitted to smuggling the cocaine in exchange for monetary gain, the complaint read.