A Houston man is behind bars in the Rio Grande Valley after he allegedly tried to smuggle almost five pounds of heroin into the United States.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers arrested 42-year-old Gilmar Noj on federal drug charges on Monday.
Court records released in his case show that Noj drove up from Mexico in a taxi at the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge.
Noj told investigators that he had been in Reynosa for a friend’s wedding and had bought five laptop bags from a street vendor.
A K-9 officer alerted authorities to the presence of drugs and authorities discovered that the padding of the laptop bags had been taken out and replaced with 4.76 pounds of heroin.
Noj appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Ormsby in McAllen on Tuesday.
Records show that Noj lives in Houston and did not appear to have a criminal record.
Judge Ormsby denied bond for Noj until a Friday morning hearing.
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