Admitted cocaine smuggler nabbed at Pharr port with 27 packages in gas tank

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized over 60 pounds of cocaine after a man tried to smuggle the drugs through the Pharr port of entry on Thursday.

Noe Benjamin Cardona was taken into custody after attempting to smuggle the cocaine into the U.S., according to a criminal complaint.

Cordona, who was driving a Ford Ranger, was selected for a random inspection and a Z-Portal scan found anomalies in his gas tank.

A K-9 unit alerted authorities to the narcotics in the vehicle.

After further inspections authorities found 27 packages hidden inside the gas tank that contained a total of about 69.13 pounds of cocaine, according to the complaint.

Cardona, who had previously told CBP officers he wasn’t carrying anything, later admitted to authorities that he was aware there were narcotics inside the vehicle but did not know the amount, the complaint stated.

He told authorities that he was going to be paid approximately $1,000 to cross the vehicle into the U.S. and leave it at a predetermined location for someone else to pick up.

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