An ongoing narcotics investigation by federal agents led to the arrest of a 40-year-old Harlingen man accused of cocaine distribution.
According to federal court documents, Juan Manuel Alvarez was arrested Friday on one count of knowingly and intentionally possess with intent to distribute 4.20 kilograms or 9.25 pounds of cocaine.
Alvarez made his initial appearance Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ignacio Torteya III, who ordered he be held without bond. His next hearing date is scheduled for March 31.
According to federal criminal complaint, Homeland Security Investigation special agents, Task Force officers along with Cameron County authorities conducted a traffic stop in Harlingen on a white Ford Fusion driven by Alvarez on March 11.
During the traffic stop, a Cameron County sheriff’s deputy used his narcotic’s canine to inspect the car where the canine alerted to the presence of drugs inside the vehicle, the complaint states.
When officers searched the car, they found four individually wrapped bundles which tested positive for cocaine.
Alvarez was turned over to federal agents and transferred to a federal HIDTA or High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area office in Brownsville.
According to the federal complaint, during a post Miranda interview, Alvarez provided a written statement in which he admitted to possessing the cocaine to distribute for financial gains.
