After Edinburg police decided to impound a Dodge Durango driven by a woman last week, the Drug Enforcement Administration says police discovered — in plain view — a little more than 24 pounds of cocaine on the floorboard of the back seat.
Now, Diana Amparo Guillen and her brother, Kevin Jesus Guillen, are facing cocaine charges.
Charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine as well as possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, the brother and sister were scheduled to appear in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hacker on Monday afternoon for probable cause and detention hearings.
The results of those hearings, which typically deal with granting bond, had not been entered into the court record as of press time.
A complaint charging the pair says Edinburg pulled Diana over on March 23 and states that Kevin was a passenger in the car, which also held a minor.
The officer asked Diana for her driver’s license and vehicle registration, but she was only able to present a Texas Identification Card and did not have insurance, authorities say.
The officer then asked her to exit the vehicle and decided to impound the vehicle because she had no driver’s license or insurance, according to the complaint.
“An inventory of property to the vehicle was initiated on the Dodge Durango and the two remaining occupants of the vehicle were asked to step out and wait by Edinburg Police Units. Upon inventory check of the Dodge Durango an Edinburg Police Office (sic) subsequently located nine (9) packages of suspected narcotics wrapped in cellophane on the bask seat floorboard of the vehicle in plain view,” the complaint stated.
DEA agents responded and confirmed the packages held cocaine and interviewed the siblings at the Edinburg Police Department.
Agents say Diana told them that she picked up the cocaine from an unidentified man in a black car shortly before being pulled over.
“She further states that she was provided with a location by that individual to take the suspected narcotics,” the complaint stated.
Kevin told authorities that the man passed a container to them, which they looked in and saw that it contained packages that the DEA says are cocaine before placing it in the back seat, authorities say.
“He stated he was with his sister at the time of the traffic stop to assist her with her trip,” the complaint stated.
