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Press Release

Woman sentenced after trying to move $1M in meth

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas

LAREDO, Texas – A 40-year-old U.S. citizen and resident of San Nicolas, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, has been ordered to prison after admitting she trafficked a large amount of “ice” meth into the country, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

Carolina Alvarez-Lopez pleaded guilty Nov. 1, 2019, to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute meth

Today, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo ordered her to serve a 72-month sentence followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence about how she brought the narcotics into the United States from Mexico and the steps she took to avoid detection from law enforcement. In handing down the sentence, the court noted the defendant’s lack of criminal history but stated a significant prison sentence was still warranted.

On March 31, 2019, Alvarez-Lopez entered the Border Patrol checkpoint at mile marker 29 on Interstate 35 north of Laredo driving a 2003 Honda Accord. During primary inspection, a K-9 alerted to the vehicle, after which law enforcement referred her to a secondary inspection. During the search of her vehicle, agents located 35 bundles of “ice” concealed inside its the seats.

The drugs weighed a total of approximately 17.5 kilograms with an estimated street value of more than $1.24 million.

Alvarez-Lopez admitted she knew there were narcotics in her vehicle and expected to be paid $2,000 for transporting them.  

She has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with assistance from Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony J. Evans prosecuted the case.

Updated February 25, 2020

Topic
Drug Trafficking