Three U.S. citizens will remain in federal custody after trying to cross more than 200 pounds of a psychedelic drug into the United States.
According to a federal criminal complaint, 223.37 pounds of dimethyltryptamine or DMT was found in a suitcase that was inside a vehicle in which the trio were riding.
The Drug Enforcement Administration classifies dimethyltryptamine or DMT as a hallucinogen that is used for psychoactive effects.
Jennifer Leticia Harrison, and Maricela Nevarez, both of Houston, and Christopher Brady, of Friendswood, are each charged with one count of knowingly and intentionally possessed with intent to distribute 101.32 kilograms or 223.37 pounds of dimethyltryptamine, a federal criminal complaint reads.
Harrison, Brady, and Nevarez appeared Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ignacio Torteya III, who ordered they be held without bond. Their next court appearance is scheduled for April 6.
According to the federal criminal complaint, the trio was attempting to cross from Mexico into the U.S. via the Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville in a BMW on March 31.
The vehicle was referred to a secondary inspection area, due to a computer-generated alert, and while being searched by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, the officers found 42 baggies inside a suitcase in the backseat of the vehicle and the trunk, the criminal complaint said.
“The bags contained a substance similar to mulch or soil. CBP conducted a field test of the substance and received positive results for the properties of dimethyltryptamine,” according to the criminal complaint.
