BROWNSVILLE: A former UPS Inc. worker in South Texas, his daughter and another ex-employee are going to prison for using the company to smuggle drugs.
Prosecutors say 46-year-old Mario Enrique Patlan and 24-year-old Cristina Patlan were sentenced Tuesday to four-year prison terms. A federal judge in Brownsville sentenced Reymundo Abel Brown Jr. to two years in the drug case from 2007 to 2012.
Mario Patlan and Brown pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and cocaine. Cristina Patlan pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. All three are from Brownsville.
UPS fired both men amid the investigation.
Investigators say drugs were shipped to Minnesota, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Florida, Ohio, Michigan and New York. Parcels were smuggled via ground and airports in Harlingen and McAllen.
