Mexican national gets over 11 years for smuggling methamphetamine and heroin into U.S.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 42-year-old Mexican national has been ordered to prison for trafficking methamphetamine and heroin, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Ramon Gustavo Alfaro Velez pleaded guilty Jan. 14.

U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. has now ordered Velez to serve 135 months in federal prison and is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment. In handing down the sentence, the court noted the significant quantity of controlled substances that Velez was being held accountable for and the need to deter future criminal conduct.

On Oct. 6, 2023, Velez applied for admission into the United States when he drove his Ford F-150 into the Veterans International Port of Entry. Authorities referred him to a secondary inspection, uncovering 45 bundles hidden within a non-factory compartment beneath the bed liner.

Of those, 43 contained a white substance that tested positive for methamphetamine, weighing 139 kilograms. The remaining two bundles contained a brown substance that tested positive for heroin with a total weight of 6.7 kilograms.

Velez will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI are conducting the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation with the assistance of Customs and Border Protection. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Watt prosecuted the case