|
Only have a minute? Listen instead
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
A Brownsville man is in federal custody after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found nearly 101 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a 2019 Dodge Charger he drove to the Gateway International Bridge.
Luis Galindo Jr., a Brownsville resident born in 2003, is charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to do the same.
CBP officers encountered Galindo on Saturday, which is when he said he took the vehicle to a mechanic in Mexico because it was leaking oil, according to a criminal complaint.
“Galindo also told the (CBP officer) that the vehicle belonged to his mother,” the complaint stated.
The CBP officer found it odd he would have the vehicle repaired in Mexico on a Saturday, according to the complaint, which said the officer wedged a screwdriver between the door and window during the normal primary inspection process and observed what appeared to be black bundles in the rear driver side door.
The officer told Galindo to turn off the vehicle and surrender the keys before placing him in handcuffs.
A search of the vehicle revealed 97 bundles hidden “within the paneling of the vehicle doors, dashboard, rear shelf, and rear quarter panels” that tested positive for methamphetamine.
“Galindo stated that he went to Mexico to pick up the vehicle at the request of his cousin, whom he identified as Tony Mendoza,” the complaint stated. “Galindo stated that he did not know narcotics were concealed in the vehicle but admitted that Tony Mendoza had been involved with illegal narcotics.”
The complaint said Galindo also admitted to previously smuggling people in the country illegally and to illegally exporting vehicles into Mexico.
A search of his phone revealed a chat thread between the cousins including one text where Galindo said he was in line at the bridge.
He made his first appearance Monday in Brownsville federal court in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Ignacio Torteya III who ordered him held without bond pending a detention hearing scheduled for Thursday.
