McALLEN, Texas – A 22-year-old man from Tamaulipas, Mexico, has pleaded guilty to importing cocaine, US Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani announced.
Felipe Abad Medina-Rubio admitted that he attempted to smuggle approximately four kilograms of cocaine into the United States through the Hidalgo port of entry.
On December 2, 2022, he arrived at the checkpoint, at which time he declared that he did not have illegal drugs in his vehicle. Authorities referred him to a secondary inspection where a K-9 alerted to the odor of narcotics near his vehicle’s battery. An X-ray examination revealed several anomalies that led to the discovery of four bricks of cocaine weighing about four kilograms. It had an estimated street value of $16,000.
In his statement today, he admitted that he expected to be paid $2,000 to smuggle the cocaine into the United States.
U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa will impose the sentence on August 17. At that time, he faces up to 40 years in prison and a possible $5 million fine.
Medina has been and will remain in prison pending this hearing.
Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Theodore Parran III prosecuted the case.
