A Rio Bravo man with the same name as a famous football player is behind bars after he tried to smuggle $798,000 dollars worth of cocaine into the United States.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers arrested 39-year-old Antonio Romo-Villanueva on federal drug charges on Saturday.
The Rio Bravo man drove up from Mexico at the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge in a Dodge Eagle Talon.
Customs officers allegedly found 10 packages with about 25 pounds of cocaine hidden inside the dashboard.
Court records released Monday show that Romo-Villanueva was supposed to get paid to deliver the drugs to someone waiting for him at the Auto Zone in Hidalgo.
Romo-Villanueva told investigators that he feared he was going to get killed if he didn’t agree to deliver the drugs.
The Rio Bravo man appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Ormsby in McAllen on Monday morning.
Investigators reported that Romo-Villanueva is a Mexican national from Rio Bravo who had permission to enter the United States.
Judge Ormsby denied bond for Romo-Villanueva until a Thursday morning hearing.
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