Southwest Texas man convicted of conspiring to traffic cocaine with intent to distribute
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A federal jury in Corpus Christi has convicted a resident of Weslaco, Texas on one count of conspiring to traffic cocaine and one count of possessing with intent to distribute cocaine following a three-day trial.
This conviction was announced by U.S. Attorney Ken Magidson, Southern District of Texas. The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Border Patrol (BP).
Jurors heard testimony that Marcos Garcia, 40, was a commercial truck driver. On the evening of Sept. 4, 2014, Garcia picked up a load of produce in Donna, Texas, and was scheduled to deliver it to Houston the next day. Garcia’s tractor trailer arrived at the BP checkpoint near Falfurrias just after midnight on Sept. 5, 2014, but Garcia was not driving. He had solicited his brother-in-law and a 22-year-old female to drive the vehicle through the checkpoint, while Garcia passed through the checkpoint in another vehicle a few minutes prior.
Authorities arrested the two people in the tractor trailer after the discovery of 15 illegal aliens hidden in the trailer with the produce. Subsequently, 37 kilograms (82 pounds) of cocaine was also found hidden in a false compartment underneath the trailer’s floor. The cocaine was found after the trailer was seized by the BP and stored at an impound lot.
“This case illustrates how smugglers often don’t care what they move as long as they can profit from it,” said Brian M. Moskowitz, special agent in charge of HSI Houston. “In the eyes of a smuggler, a human being and a brick of cocaine are simply commodities that need to be moved from one place to another without detection. Thanks to our agents and our partners, that plan didn’t quite work out so well for this defendant.”
Evidence established that Garcia was going to resume driving his tractor trailer after his brother-in-law and the female successfully passed through the checkpoint. Garcia’s plan was to deliver the illegal aliens and the cocaine himself. For some time, Garcia believed that law enforcement would not discover the cocaine and filed paperwork with BP in an attempt to retrieve his trailer and the cocaine. However, law enforcement found the cocaine before Garcia could do so.
U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos presided over the trial and has set sentencing for Jan. 14, 2016. At that time, Garcia faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life imprisonment, as well as a possible $10 million fine.
In addition, Garcia was arrested at the Falfurrias checkpoint driving another tractor trailer hauling produce on Oct. 31, 2014. Along with the produce were 24 illegal aliens hiding in the vehicle that Garcia was driving. He previously pleaded guilty to that offense and faces up to 10 years imprisonment and a maximum $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad W. Cowan, Southern District of Texas, is prosecuting the case.
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