A woman accused of smuggling nearly 30 pounds of cocaine across the Veterans International Bridge in Brownsville said she was being paid by a drug smuggling organization to cross the drugs, according to a federal criminal complaint.
Cesilia Garcia, age and address unknown, appeared Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ignacio Torteya III, who ordered she be held without bond. Her next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 8.
According to the federal criminal complaint, Garcia was attempting to cross the bridge in a Ford Focus when her vehicle was referred to a secondary area “due to a computer generated alert.”
While undergoing an inspection, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found 13 bundles wrapped in cellophane that contained a white substance that tested positive for cocaine that weighed 13.52 kilograms or 29.78 pounds, the federal criminal complaint read.
During a post-Miranda interview with Homeland Security Investigation agents and task force officers, Garcia admitted she was employed to smuggle narcotics by a drug smuggling operation for financial gain, the federal criminal complaint stated. It did not say how much money was involved.
