McALLEN — Two brothers allegedly tried to conceal about 3 kilos of meth within their vehicle during their attempt to enter the country.
Juan Guadalupe Rios-Rodriguez, 23, and his brother Jose Manuel Rios-Rodriguez, 29, both of Mexico, were arrested at the Roma Port of Entry after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered four packages that were later confirmed to be packages containing methamphetamine, according to the complaint filed against the men.
On Tuesday, CBP officers detained Juan and his brother Jose, both citizens of Mexico, as they attempted to cross into the U.S. inside an older model Chevrolet 3500 pickup truck.
According to public records the pickup truck is registered to Juan out of Rio Grande City.
The brother’s arrest came moments after CBP officers conducted an additional inspection of Juan’s pickup truck, where they discovered four packages mixed in with auto parts located in the back passenger portion of the pickup truck.
“A total of four packages were discovered and extracted,” the complaint said.
The packages contained a white powdery substance and tested positive for the characteristics of methamphetamine. The packages had a total weight of approximately 3.34 kilograms, the court record shows.
Juan, during his interview with U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations agents, said he was promised about $6,000 in exchange for smuggling the bricks of meth into the U.S.
“(Juan) then confessed he was going to receive $2,000 per kilogram of methamphetamine he successfully smuggled from Mexico into the United States,” the court record shows.
His brother Jose, told agents he was promised $1,000 per package he helped smuggle into the U.S., the criminal complaint states.
“(Jose) also mentioned he helped his brother conceal narcotics inside the vehicle,” the complaint states.
Juan and Jose made their respective initial appearances in federal court Wednesday, where they stood before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter E. Ormsby, and heard the allegations against them.
Court records indicate both men asked for a court-appointed attorney.
The brothers were placed in detention pending their detention hearing scheduled for next Tuesday, court records show.
