A federal judge sentenced a Mexican man to a 14-year prison sentence in a 2019 federal meth smuggling case, according to court records.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez sentenced Brian Alan Herrera-Valenzuela to a 168-month prison sentence related to his April 2019 arrest on drug smuggling charges.
At the time of his arrest nearly two years ago, Herrera-Valenzuela was found in possession of 23 kilograms of methamphetamine.
In October 2019, Herrera-Valenzuela pleaded guilty to one count of importation of a controlled substance, records show.
According to the criminal complaint filed against Herrera-Valenzuela, the 27-year-old attempted to enter the United States via the Hidalgo port of entry but was sent for a secondary inspection after a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer noted a change in the man’s demeanor.
Herrera-Valenzuela told the officer he was headed to Hidalgo for some shopping.
Upon his arrival, an X-ray revealed anomalies in the tires. Authorities conducted a search and discovered 40 packages of meth weighing about 23 kilograms, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Southern District of Texas.
At the time of his arrest, he told federal agents he knowingly imported the meth into the country from Mexico with the intent to deliver it to Dallas. Herrera-Valenzuela told federal agents it was his second trip after successfully transporting drugs in March 2019 — a month before.
The man from Mexico also told agents he expected to be paid roughly $7,000, the court record shows.
In exchange for pleading true to count 2, import of a controlled substance, the government agreed to dismiss the remaining three charges against him, two conspiracy charges, and one distribution charge, records show.
Herrera-Valenzuela, who lacks authority to remain in the country legally, did not receive a supervised release term as he will likely be deported upon completion of his prison term.
He will remain in federal custody pending his transfer to a federal bureau of prisons facility, the release stated.
