NEW YORK: U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested a woman in connection with smuggling drugs last week, according to a criminal complaint.
Officers arrested Kezia Stephanie Hurtado on the morning of Dec. 18 at the Hidalgo Port of Entry after an inspection of the Ford Fusion she was driving revealed methamphetamine and cocaine concealed within, according to the criminal complaint.
Officers discovered nearly 16 pounds of methamphetamine and nearly 28 pounds of cocaine inside the vehicle during a standard inspection, according to the complaint.
On Monday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Dorina Ramos formally charged Hurtado at the federal courthouse in McAllen with knowingly and intentionally possessing with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, according to court records.
During interviews with Homeland Security Investigations agents Hurtado, who was in need of money, stated she met a man who, a month earlier in Mexico, told her she could make about $2,000 to cross a vehicle into the U.S., according to the court records.
After the unidentified man registered the Ford Fusion in Hurtado’s name, she agreed to drive it from the U.S. to Mexico, where the man took possession of it for about three hours, the complaint states.
Hurtado, back in possession of the car, drove the Ford Fusion back into the United States, through the Hidalgo Port of Entry where officers discovered the drugs, according to the complaint.
“Agents asked Hurtado if she believed if this individual put something in the vehicle and she nodded her head up and down as if to signal a yes answer,” the complaint states. “Hurtado stated that she believes the individual who was paying her to cross the vehicle works for the Gulf Cartel and is involved in drugs.”
Hurtado admitted to agents she believed she was carrying currency but also said she knew drugs are transported from Mexico into the U.S. and currency is typically transported from the U.S. to Mexico, the complaint states.
