McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — A man who smuggled cocaine through a Border Patrol checkpoint in South Texas has been sentenced to over 10 years in prison, as pounds of cocaine are still being trafficked through international bridges, law enforcement says.
Jesus Cedillo, 36, has been sentenced to 126 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute over 28 kilograms of cocaine that he tried to bring through the Border Patrol checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas, U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei said.
Cedillo’s vehicle was searched after a canine unit alerted agents to possible drugs at the checkpoint. The inspection uncovered 28.6 kilograms of cocaine in the speaker boxes in his trunk, Ganjei said.
He told U.S. District Judge David Morales that a former coworker recruited him to transport the cocaine to Houston and would pay him $6,000.
Over $300K in cocaine seized
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers say they seized $318,000 in cocaine from a pickup coming from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, into the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge in Laredo, Texas.
Officers sent the pickup to a secondary inspection after an alert from a canine unit, and they found 10 packages containing almost 23 pounds of cocaine in the vehicle driven by a 51-year-old U.S. citizen.
The driver has been arrested.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.
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