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A Mexican citizen was arrested at the Hidalgo Port of Entry after Border Patrol agents discovered anomalies in his vehicle’s fuel tank, leading to the discovery of a large amount of methamphetamine, according to a criminal complaint.
Manuel Ley Villa, born in 1965, was charged with knowingly importing nearly 91 pounds of methamphetamine, a schedule II controlled substance, into the United States.
On Sunday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection notified Homeland Security Investigations that Villa made entry into the country through the Hidalgo POE in a maroon Chrysler Pacifica.
CBP officers observed anomalies within the fuel tank of the vehicle during an x-ray inspection.
The officers “discovered a fuel tank filled with a liquid material which crystallized upon contact with the floor after they tried to remove it.”
“The liquid was tested and determined to be methamphetamine,” the complaint said.
Authorities transferred the liquid into containers and subsequently weighed them which resulted in a total of 90.6 pounds.
Ley Villa waived his rights and voluntarily spoke to agents telling them that he was initially entering the U.S. to purchase vegetables and other American groceries, according to the complaint.
He “ultimately admitted” that he was recruited by a person in Mexico to transport narcotics into the country.
“Ley Villa stated he was never told what type of narcotics he would be smuggling into the U.S., but suspected it was methamphetamine because he knew the individual that recruited him was involved in methamphetamine smuggling,” the complaint said.
He added that once he was in the country he would be receiving a call and instructions on where to deliver the vehicle filled with narcotics.
According to Ley Villa, he had made multiple trips to and from the U.S. in the same vehicle the day before but Sunday was the first time the vehicle was loaded with narcotics.
He was scheduled for a first appearance in front U.S. Magistrate Judge Juan F. Alanis on Monday morning.
