EDINBURG, Texas (Border Report) — A South Texas jury has found a Mexican truck driver guilty of attempting to smuggle 440 pounds of cocaine across the border through an international bridge.
Mario Pastor, 34, of Reynosa, Mexico, was convicted last week on a felony count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver more than 400 grams, Hidalgo County District Attorney Terry Palacios says.
Pastor was a commercial truck driver who often crossed the border into South Texas from Mexico, Palacios says.
According to court documents presented during the three-day trial in the 464th District Court, on March 5, Pastor drove a tractor-trailer through the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge where Border Patrol officers discovered the cocaine concealed within the trailer.
The drugs have an estimated street value of over $6 million.
Pastor has been sentenced to serve 15 years in prison.
“This verdict sends a clear message,” Palacios said. “Drug traffickers who attempt to use our highways and borders to transport dangerous narcotics will be caught and held fully accountable. The men and women of law enforcement who stopped this shipment prevented millions of dollars’ worth of illegal drugs from reaching our communities.”
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.