A Mission woman has been sentenced to a decade behind bars after admitting to ferrying 18 kilos of cocaine across the U.S.-Mexico border. Brenda Bazaldua-Mariscal, 41, received a 120-month prison term followed by five years of supervised release as part of her sentence for drug trafficking, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Bazaldua-Mariscal had pleaded guilty on May 22, 2023, since then the details of her involvement with a narcotics organization have come to light, revealing a network that spans beyond a simple act of transportation. On Aug. 12, 2021, she was caught at the Pharr Port of Entry with a secret compartment in her vehicle packed with cocaine. This incident marked a turning point in the investigation, but for Bazaldua-Mariscal, it's the point where her previous 60-month sentence for a similar offense caught up with her, Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane noted during sentencing.
During the secondary inspection that fateful day, a keen-eyed K-9 unit alerted authorities to the presence of drugs, leading to the discovery of cocaine bundles in the front bumper of her Lincoln MKX, a stash valued at around $234,000. Text messages subsequently unearthed by investigators indicated a full awareness on her part of the illegal cargo she was carrying, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Bazaldua-Mariscal currently awaits transfer to a federal prison where she will begin her sentence, while Homeland Security Investigations, with aid from Customs and Border Protection, manages the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jose A. Garcia, took on the prosecution.
