South Texas woman sentenced to 5 years for smuggling cocaine into US

DEL RIO, Texas — A local woman was sentenced Monday to five years in federal prison for importing more than five kilograms of cocaine.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Laurie Molina, 53, appeared before U.S. District Judge Alia Moses who sentenced her to serve 60 months in federal prison, and a five-year term of supervised release. Molina pleaded guilty to the charges June 18, 2012.

According to court documents, on May 10, 2012, Molina was entering the United States from Mexico through the Amistad Port of Entry in Del Rio when CBP directed her to a secondary inspection of her vehicle. During that inspection, CBP discovered more than five kilograms of cocaine hidden in the car battery. She was arrested and taken into custody following the inspection.

She remains in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

This case was prosecuted by the Western District of Texas.