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A traffic stop by police in Mission on Friday resulted in the seizure of nearly 230 pounds of cocaine and two arrests.
Federal authorities have charged Jorge Alberto Martinez, born in 1997, and Florencio Albino Chapa-Hernandez, born in 1978, with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute a little more than 227 pounds of cocaine.
A criminal complaint against the men said that Martinez fled on Friday when Mission police tried to pull over the silver Toyota Tacoma he was driving.
He was apprehended about a block away from where he stopped his vehicle.
“A search of the Tacoma revealed multiple cardboard boxes each containing bundles wrapped in cellophane with a substance suspected to be illegal narcotics,” the complaint stated. “One cardboard box containing bundles was in the front passenger seat floorboard open displaying the bundles.”
Authorities seized 74 bundles of cocaine that weighed a little more than 189 pounds.
After his arrest, Martinez said a family friend loaded the boxes into his vehicle at a residence in McAllen, according to the complaint.
“Martinez stated while in the vehicle he noticed the boxes contained narcotics and decided to evade law enforcement,” the complaint stated.
Homeland Security Investigations special agents set up surveillance at that McAllen residence and observed a Ford F-150 leave the location.
The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle, which was driven by Chapa, and found multiple bundles wrapped in cellophane concealed within the Ford F-150’s dashboard.
In all, federal authorities recovered 15 bundles that weighed a little more than 37 pounds.
Chapa initially said Martinez loaded the boxes into the Tacoma, but after more questioning, he said they both loaded the bundles into the vehicle, according to the complaint.
“Chapa-Hernandez further stated he was paid to care for the narcotics at the house,” the complaint stated.
The men are scheduled to make a first appearance Tuesday morning in McAllen federal court in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Juan F. Alanis.
