A San Benito man said a member of a known drug smuggling operation offered him money to smuggle drugs from Mexico into the United States, a federal criminal complaint reads.
Ricardo Uribe Estrada has been charged with knowingly and intentionally possess to distribute 10.52 kilograms or 23 pounds of cocaine.
According to the federal criminal complaint, Estrada on Sept. 26 attempted to enter the U.S. from Mexico via the B&M International Bridge in Brownsville.
At the primary inspection area, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer referred Estrada’s vehicle to a secondary inspection area, the federal criminal complaint reads. It was during this secondary inspection that officers found 10 bundles, of what later tested positive for cocaine, within the floorboard of the vehicle, officials said.
According to the federal criminal complaint, Estrada, during a post Miranda interview, told Homeland Security Investigation agents that a member of a drug smuggling organization had offered him money to smuggle the cocaine into the U.S.
The amount of money offered was not included in the federal criminal complaint.
Estrada initially appeared Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ignacio Torteya III, who ordered he be held without bond. Estrada’s next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 4.
