Homeland Security Investigations arrested a woman Sunday after U.S. Customs and Border Protection discovered a variety of dangerous drugs inside her vehicle.
Cristina Jaimes-Arzate, who was born in 1998, is charged with knowingly and intentionally possessing with the intent to distribute nearly five pounds of fentanyl, nearly three pounds of methamphetamine and approximately 10 pounds of cocaine.
She was arrested after CBP discovered the drugs inside the tan 2013 Chevrolet Suburban she drove to the Gateway International Bridge.
A criminal complaint said CBP referred her for a secondary inspection after she provided inconsistent answers to questions.
“A detailed inspection utilizing x-ray technology revealed anomalies in the cargo area inside Jaimes Arzate’s Suburban,” the criminal complaint stated.
A drug-sniffing dog also alerted to her vehicle, according to a criminal complaint.
CBP officers discovered the fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and a little more than 16 pounds of an unknown black substance hidden inside two torque converters within the Suburban.
The complaint said she admitted to transporting the drugs for monetary gain.
She made a first appearance Monday morning in Brownsville federal court in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald G. Morgan, who ordered her held without bond pending a detention hearing scheduled for later this week, court records indicate.
