Feds: Woman caught driving with 7 year old son and 4.9lbs of cocaine in Brownsville

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A Mexican woman made her first appearance in court after she was caught driving with nearly five pounds of cocaine in a vehicle with her 7-year-old son, documents revealed.

Ana Isela Estrada-Rivera was arrested on a charge of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, federal records show.

A criminal complaint states that at 6:38 p.m. on Aug. 24, 2023, a Brownsville police officer conducted a traffic stop on an Aveo Chevrolet with Tamaulipas license plates. The officer conducted the traffic stop near Morrison Road and Expressway 83 after the woman failed to signal a lane change.

The driver, identified as Estrada-Rivera, was accompanied by her 7-year-old son, the complaint stated.

While being interviewed, officers searched the vehicle and found 4.9 pounds of cocaine in a grocery bag in the passenger seat, the document added.

According to the complaint, BPD SIU agents interviewed Estrada-Rivera at the station, who said that at 4:30 p.m. she crossed from Matamoros with the drugs inside her car battery. She added that she was approached while at a 7 Eleven by a man who asked if she was willing to cross into the U.S. with drugs in her vehicle.

She said she agreed because she needed the money, but did not know how much she was going to receive.

Estrada-Rivera, who is a Mexican citizen, made her initial appearance in federal court on Monday. She has a detention hearing scheduled for Thursday and remains held without bond.