Trucker caught with 224 pounds of cocaine at Rio Grande City bridge

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers on Thursday detained a Mexican national after finding 224 pounds of cocaine hidden in pallets loaded with landscape rocks at the Rio Grande City port of entry.

Following the discovery, Homeland Security Investigations special agents charged Javier Omar Vazquez Martinez, who was born in 1983, with importation of a controlled substance.

Vazquez arrived at the crossing as the sole occupant of a tractor-trailer and declared a shipment of stones, according to a criminal complaint.

During a secondary inspection, CBP officers observed irregularities in the pallets.

“During the inspection, (CBP) discovered multiple packages inside of what appeared to be cement-like man-made rocks, located within … the middle of the pallets of stones,” the complaint stated.

Those packages contained a large amount of cocaine.

“Vazquez stated that he suspected he was importing narcotics from Mexico into the United States,” the complaint stated. “Vazquez gave Agents written consent to search his cell phone. During a manual review of the device, Agents found a picture of an article regarding a recent drug seizure at the RGC (port of entry).”

He made a first appearance in McAllen federal court on Friday in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Nadia S. Medrano, who ordered him temporarily held without bond pending a detention hearing.

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