A Mexican national who had more than 55 kilos of meth inside the gas tank of the vehicle he was driving was sentenced last week, records show.
On June 29, the court handed down a 70-month prison sentence for Jorge Alfredo Castillo Valadez who participated in an attempt to smuggle more than 55 kilos of methamphetamine into the country on Sept. 6, 2019, via the Donna port of entry.
During this attempt, Valadez requested a permit to drive to San Antonio and provided a brief itinerary to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.
“Valadez was asked for his itinerary and that is when he stated that he was traveling from Reynosa, Mexico to Six Flags Fiesta in San Antonio, Texas. Valadez did not have any luggage for his trip, and he also advised (officers) that he was traveling alone,” the complaint stated.
He was subsequently referred for a secondary inspection.
During the inspection, officers found packages containing methamphetamine inside the fuel tank of his vehicle.
When interviewed, Valadez said he spoke to a man via Facebook that offered to pay him to smuggle drugs into the U.S.
“Valadez confirmed his interest to the subject to smuggle narcotics into the U.S. in exchange for $2,000-$2,500 in compensation,” the complaint stated.
Additionally, Valadez said he risked smuggling drugs into the U.S. because he thought his wife would be hurt — but details about that claim were not elaborated in the complaint, the document showed.
Despite facing several drug-related charges, Valadez agreed to a plea deal that eventually led to the dismissal of several of those charges. He was sentenced for count 2, import of a controlled substance, records show.
He is set to serve 70 months in prison and no supervised release upon completion of the prison term.
