Brownsville man facing life in prison for cocaine conspiracy

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A Brownsville man entered a last-minute plea Friday for his role in a large-scale cocaine conspiracy.

Raul Dominguez-Vega, 45, was set to begin trial next Monday, but instead elected to plead guilty to a charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office stated.

A news release stated that Dominguez-Vega was part of an ongoing drug conspiracy with several others who were packaging and distributing cocaine coming from Mexico.

The cocaine would arrive from Mexico, and be stored, re-packaged and wrapped in "shrink wrap" in a shed at his home. The cocaine would then be shipped north, to areas such as Houston, Ohio and Louisiana, the release stated.

Authorities conducted surveillance and made several seizures, two of which were on Jan. 25, and Jan. 31, 2020. Before the second seizure, bags of cocaine heading to Houston were loaded into a vehicle at Dominguez-Vega's residence. They were discovered at the Sarita Border Patrol checkpoint inside of a tractor trailer.

His sentencing is scheduled for May 22, and he is facing a minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison, as well as a possible $5 million fine.