‘Musicians’ arrested at Hidalgo bridge after CBP finds 208 pounds of cocaine

Hidalgo Port of Entry is seen in this undated photo. (Courtesy: CBP)

A group of men posing as a musical group were arrested at the Hidalgo Port of Entry for attempting to smuggle over 200 pounds of cocaine, according to a criminal complaint.

Roberto Mario Rodriguez, Miguel Angel Alvarado Rodriguez, Jose Alfredo Contreras Martinez, Luis Angel Martinez Lopez, David Alexis Franco Soto and Raul Cruz Sanchez were all charged with knowingly and unlawfully importing a controlled substance into the United States.

On Monday, a 2011 Volvo bus driven by a man named Edgar Jauregui-Ortiz attempted to make entry into the U.S. through the Hidalgo Port of Entry. He stated he was driving six people who were musicians before being flagged for secondary inspection.

“X-ray photos indicated an anomaly in the gas tank area,” the complaint said.

A search of the tank resulted in the discovery of about 80 bundles of cocaine that weighed about 208 pounds.

Homeland Security Investigations special agents conducted interviews with the men.

When speaking to Juaregui, he told agents that he had driven the same people from the Monterrey, Mexico area to Houston several times during the last few months for the same reason.

The complaint went on to say that Juaregui made several inconsistent statements and when confronted admitted to agents that he was aware they were smuggling narcotics into the country.

“Juaregui also stated that the passengers, posing as musicians who were to perform or record in Houston, was a ‘cover’ to conceal the smuggling attempt,” the complaint said.

He also admitted that once they arrived in Houston, he would park the vehicle at a hotel, leave the keys and someone else could take the vehicle to another location. Juaregui then said he would get a call when the vehicle was ready so they could return to Mexico.

He added that the band members wouldn’t use the vehicle in Houston and would use Uber to get around.

In an interview with Franco-Soto and Cruz-Sanchez, the two men told agents that they were members of a band who were going to a recording studio in Houston and that Rodriguez made reservations with a studio to coordinate the recording session.

The two added that they had done this before for the last several months, according to the complaint.

During his interview, Rodriguez said he hadn’t spoken to anyone at the studio in Houston and indicated that they would make arrangements once the group got to the city.

Rodriguez stated that other than recording, the group would sometimes play at a place called Mariscos Costas Sinaloa, also in Houston.

He then admitted that they hadn’t made arrangements to record or play music, but would try and play somewhere whenever they found a place.

Contreras told agents that sometimes they would stay at a hotel in Houston and go back to Mexico without playing at any studio or event, adding that Alvarado is the one in charge of the band members’ travel and itinerary.

Alvarado admitted to agents that he didn’t know the final destination of the band in Houston and that Rodriguez is the one with the studio contact and he would be the one to make those arrangements.

“According to database information, starting in October 2024, the 2011 Volvo made entry into the United States at the Hidalgo, TX Port of Entry during the early morning hours approximately every week to two weeks,” the complaint said.

Records showed that Juaregui was the driver on each occasion and would always travel through the Falfurrias checkpoint about an hour and a half later.

A review of X-ray photos from prior trips through Hidalgo shows that the anomaly in the gas tank was present on each trip.

The group made their initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hacker in McAllen federal court Wednesday morning.

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