A 31-year-old Houston man remains in federal custody following his arrest on drug smuggling charges.
A federal criminal complaint states that Josue Ibarra is suspected of trying to cross nearly 14 pounds of cocaine through the Veterans International Bridge on Nov. 2 in Brownsville.
Ibarra appeared Nov. 3 before U.S. Magistrate Ignancio Torteya III for his initial hearing. He was denied bond and remanded to the custody of U.S. Marshals. His detention hearing is scheduled for Nov. 19.
The federal criminal complaint states that at the primary inspection, Ibarra’s 2008 BMW was referred to a secondary inspection, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found six bundles of what appeared to be cocaine behind the rear seat.
According to the federal criminal complaint, Ibarra said he was going to be paid $6,000 to smuggle the cocaine from Mexico into the United States.
The cocaine has an estimated street value of $107,000.
“Every narcotics interception made by our CBP officers is meaningful as it is one less drug load that we keep off our streets and prevent from inflicting harm on our communities,” said Port Director Tater Ortiz, Brownsville Port of Entry.
