By Biodun Busari
Denisse Ahumada, a councillor from the Mexican border city of Reynosa was arrested after border patrol agents found about 93 pounds of cocaine in her car at a checkpoint in Texas, the United States.
Court records revealed that she was nabbed on June 10 at an inland security checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas, after an X-ray inspection of her SUV showed anomalies in the door panels and the seats, CBS reported.
Border patrol agents discovered 42 packages wrapped in duct tape and foil, each containing about a kilogram of cocaine.
In a news release announcing the seizure in Falfurrias and another cocaine seizure at the Javier Vega Jr. checkpoint, Border Patrol said they had found narcotics totalling about 117 pounds with a street value of over $3.7 million
According to prosecutors, Ahumada told agents she was supposed to have delivered the drugs to San Antonio, Texas, adding that she had carried such shipments before.
CBS said she did not respond to email requests for comment on the reports.
Prosecutors said Ahumada faces a charge of possession with intent to distribute drugs in the United States District Court for southern Texas.
Local media reported Ahumada was part of the conservative opposition National Action Party, but in a statement Tuesday, the PAN office in the northern border state of Tamaulipas denied she was a member or supporter of the party, and condemned drug smuggling.
State party leader Luis René Cantú said Ahumada had run for office on the Green Party ticket and later asked to join the PAN, but later lost contact with the party.
Reynosa is a violent border city across from McAllen, Texas, that has long been dominated by factions of the Gulf Cartel.
Source: Vanguard
