|
Only have a minute? Listen instead
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
A trucker is under arrest after Border Patrol agents at the Sarita checkpoint on Friday found approximately 53 pounds of cocaine hidden in a blue toolbox.
The discovery was made at approximately 10:50 p.m. that day when Pablo Garcia Ortiz arrived at the checkpoint in a gray Freightliner tractor.
During the inspection, Ortiz told agents he had just dropped off a load in Laredo and was returning to his home in Orange, Texas, according to a criminal complaint.
The agent noted the Ortiz taking Highway 77 from Laredo is out of the way to travel to the city, which is east of Houston.
After a K-9 alerted to the vehicle, the agents asked Ortiz to park in the secondary inspection area, which is when he became difficult, according to the complaint.
“Ortiz was taking his time to exit the vehicle and spilled a jug that contained suspected urine all over the cab area,” the complaint stated.
The smell was potent and agents noted that Ortiz was not getting off his cellphone and claimed that the agents were “planting something inside the vehicle.”
During the search, agents discovered 22 bundles of cocaine in the toolbox, which was located underneath the bed inside the vehicle.
“The bundles were in a black trash bag and a cardboard box,” the complaint stated. “In the same black trash bag, there was what appeared to be chili powder which is a common tactic used to mask the odor of narcotics.”
Ortiz is charged with knowingly, intentionally and unlawfully possessing with the intent to distribute cocaine.
He was scheduled to make an initial appearance in Corpus Christi federal court on Monday morning.
