Texas Border Business
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas
McALLEN, Texas – A 43-year-old man has been sentenced for importing meth, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Arnulfo Hinojosa Jr. pleaded guilty Aug. 1.
Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane has now ordered Hinojosa to serve 135 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence that Hinojosa played an integral role in smuggling illegal narcotics into the United States. In handing down the sentence, the court noted traffickers could not succeed without the willing participation of transporters like Hinojosa.
On April 22, Hinojosa claimed he had no illegal drugs in his vehicle when arriving at the Rio Grande City Port of Entry.
Authorities referred him to secondary inspection where a K-9 alerted to the odor of narcotics. A subsequent search revealed 101 bricks of meth, weighing approximately 140 kilograms and hidden in compartments under the vehicle’s cargo bed.
The meth had an estimated street value of approximately $350,000.
At the time of his plea, Hinojosa admitted he knew he was smuggling narcotics into the United States.
Hinojosa will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodore Parran III prosecuted the case.
Updated October 30, 2024
