A 35-year-old man from Monterrey, Mexico was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison following his conviction of smuggling cocaine and methamphetamine concealed in a candy box in May, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Nestor Alan Garcia, a U.S. citizen living in Mexico, was convicted of attempting to smuggle nearly 5 pounds of cocaine and more than 13 pounds of meth through the Hidalgo port of entry.
The conviction came after a federal jury deliberated for about 45 minutes on Sept. 22, 2022, following a four-day trial.
U.S. District Judge Randy Crane sentenced Garcia to 12 years in prison immediately followed by five years of supervised release.
“At the hearing, the court heard arguments on whether Garcia had a larger role in the conspiracy beyond his participation as a transporter,” the USAO news release said.
Garcia attempted to enter the Hidalgo port of entry in a taxi on May 13, according to testimony.
The court documents said that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers became suspicious of Garcia after he displayed too much friendliness and chattiness.
Garcia, who was in possession of meat, drink mixers and puppies, told the agents he was on his way to a “sweet 15” party in McAllen, but his friendliness resulted in his taxi being sent to secondary inspection.
It was then that the agents discovered a box of “pulparindo” candy that contained “two brick shaped items and six bundles,” according to the complaint.
Officers tested the substances which resulted in a positive for cocaine and methamphetamines.
Garcia gave conflicting stories regarding how the drugs had gotten there, first claiming that he had no idea about them and then stating he had been on a roundabout journey with strangers inside a white passenger van prior to arriving at Reynosa.
He later claimed he was helping an unknown man drop the meat, puppies and candy to a Walmart in McAllen.
Then, he blamed two men and two women in the passenger van that he was helping as they were traveling to drop off the items in Dallas.
Garcia, who was in possession of meat, drink mixers and puppies, told the agents he was on his way to a “sweet 15” party in McAllen, but his friendliness resulted in his taxi being sent to secondary inspection.
In another version of his story, Garcia said that his unknown traveling companions dropped him off at a Reynosa hospital where he was scheduled to hop into a taxi heading to the U.S., which had been ordered by his mother.
During questioning, Garcia’s cellphone had been ringing repeatedly from a single number, according to the criminal complaint.
Officials said Garcia knew about the drugs because he had planned the smuggling attempt with his mother.
“He coordinated the smuggling of the narcotics with his mother for days ahead of the smuggling event at the Hidalgo port of entry,” the initial news release said.
During the trial, the defense attempted to convince the jury that Garcia had no knowledge of the drugs and was only doing a favor for his mom, but the jury didn’t believe those claims and found him guilty.
