Three men pleaded guilty to federal charges Friday following a drug bust where authorities found over 2,000 pounds of marijuana hidden inside the roof of a recreational vehicle on a Starr County ranch last year.
Brothers Leonel Amadeo Ramos-Resendez of Roma and Roberto Amadeo Ramos-Resendez from Mier, Mexico, in addition to Hector Ivan Garza-Garcia, then 38, from Falcon Heights pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and conspiracy to distribute.
The Ramos-Resendez brothers were 35-years-old at the time of their arrest.
Charges were dropped for the owner of the ranch and Rio Grande City resident Roberto Muñiz Jr., who was 39-years-old during the bust.
Border Patrol and Drug Enforcement Administration agents and investigators, in collaboration with the Starr County Sheriff’s Office, obtained a search warrant for the ranch property where they discovered 2,157 pounds of marijuana after an investigator conducted a traffic stop on a Chevrolet Silverado driven by Leonel.
The ranch, located at 2672 U.S. Highway 83 in Salineño, is close to the Rio Grande and had been under surveillance as Border Patrol agents reportedly saw bundles of suspected marijuana being unloaded there.
The trio, who were all inside the Silverado during the traffic stop, were detained and transported to the Starr County Sheriff’s Office while Border Patrol agents created a perimeter surrounding the ranch, according to the criminal complaint.
Muñiz approached the agents then, telling them that he was the owner of the ranch and giving the authorities permission to search his property, but agents informed him of the search warrant.
During the search, authorities entered a recreational vehicle where they found the frame molding of the interior walls had been tampered.
In search of an access point, investigators arrived at the AC unit located on the roof of the RV where they ultimately removed the unit in order to access a false compartment masked by false walls.
Sentencing for the trio is set for Sept. 15.
