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A man in Brownsville was arrested Tuesday after Border Patrol and other law enforcement found him to be hauling over 700 pounds of marijuana inside a dump truck, according to a criminal complaint.
Louis Anthony Monroy was found to be driving a dump truck that contained approximately 703 pounds of marijuana in 16 bundles and has been charged with conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.
On Tuesday, Border Patrol agents in Brownsville encountered a red dump truck traveling south on Water Tower Road from Military Highway 281 as agents conducting line watch saw several vehicles and people south of the Rio Grande on the Mexican riverbank.
“During that time a Department of Public Safety officer deployed a drone and managed to notify agents on the ground of several subjects finished loading the red dump truck previously seen enter the area,” the complaint said.
Once the men finished loading the dump truck, it proceeded to drive from the river toward Military Highway.
The truck was traveling north when agents in marked units intercepted the truck and detained the driver who was identified as Monroy, according to the complaint.
Once Monroy was detained, a Border Patrol K9 conducted a free air sniff of the truck, which resulted in the K9 alerting to the presence of a controlled substance.
“The Border Patrol K9 agent and DPS Troopers observed in plain view, a total of [16] bundles,” the complaint said. “The bundles were established to contain a green leafy substance that was field tested and yielded a positive result for marijuana.”
The bundles yielded a total combined weight of slightly over 703 pounds.
That same day, Monroy agreed to speak with investigators and stated that he was to be paid about $1,000 to pick up loads of dirt but later established that it was possibly going to be narcotics.
“Monroy stated he found out it was possibly narcotics before driving to the pickup location and still proceeded to continue being guided by voice message and text,” the complaint said.
Monroy is scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Betancourt in Brownsville federal court next Monday morning for his preliminary examination.
