FBI special agents on Thursday arrested a San Juan couple for trafficking a little more than 79 pounds of cocaine.
Luis Alberto Garcia Leal and Edith Rodriguez Rodriguez, both Mexican citizens born in 1979, are charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and conspiracy to do the same.
The charges follow a consensual interview with Garcia at the FBI office in McAllen where he told agents he stores and delivers cocaine in Hidalgo County on behalf of other individuals, according to a criminal complaint.
“He admitted to being instructed to receive, store, and deliver cocaine to other people in the area,” the complaint stated.
Garcia said he receives approximately 33 pounds of cocaine a week and that he used Rodriguez’s Volkswagen Jetta to make deliveries. He also said “he was expecting a load of cocaine to be dropped off at any time.”
During the interview, Garcia said he had two pounds of cocaine at his San Juan home and gave FBI agents consent to search, according to the complaint.
“Agents went to the residence; however, they did not find drugs,” the complaint stated.
Garcia told agents his wife must have taken the cocaine and directed authorities to another San Juan residence where he believed they would find the Volkswagen Jetta, according to the complaint.
Agents found the vehicle at that residence parked out front and made contact with Rodriguez, who admitted Garcia was her husband.
“She also stated that the 1 kilogram of cocaine was inside the Volkswagen Jetta sedan, along with ‘a lot more,’” the complaint stated. “Rodriguez provided agents with consent to search said vehicle.”
FBI agents found approximately 36 bundles inside the vehicle.
The couple was scheduled to make an initial appearance Friday morning in McAllen federal court in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Juan F. Alanis, court records show.
