A Texas man is staring down the barrel of a seven-year prison stint after trying to smuggle cocaine with a street value of over $200,000 in his Jeep, federal authorities said. Elias Garcia, a Brownsville resident, was handed an 82-month sentence for his part in the illicit cargo caper, according to a U.S. Attorney's Office statement.
Garcia, 35, had pled guilty on Nov. 30, 2023, following the discovery of four kilograms of cocaine concealed in the underbelly of his car's battery compartment. Driving through the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint on Oct. 4, 2023, an X-ray revealed the anomaly that landed Garcia in hot water, the office said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
The sentence, passed down by U.S. District Judge David S. Morales, will be followed by Garcia serving an additional four years under supervised release. Garcia is in custody until he can be transferred to a federal pen, the statement explained.
Conducting the investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Border Patrol officers sniffed out the smuggler's ruse, U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani's office detailed. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Marck saw the prosecution through until its end.
