CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A Mission man was sent to federal prison Wednesday for distributing and hiding heroin in the floorboards of his car at a checkpoint.
Gerardo Torres, 27, was ordered by a U.S. District judge ordered to serve in federal prison following his conviction of possession with the intent to distribute heroin.
On Sept. 10, 2021, Torres arrived at the Sarita checkpoint and was believed to be distributing illegal narcotics, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas.
U.S. Border Patrol agents referred Torres to a second inspection where agents discovered an overspray trap door beneath the front passenger seat with four vacuum-sealed bundles wrapped in clear cellophane, federal prosecutors said.
Agents discovered an additional trap door and five wrapped bundles underneath Torres’ driver seat, totaling to nine hidden bundles.
The bundles were determined to be 20 pounds of heroin estimated at $545,160, prosecutors said.
Torres will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
