CBP seizes $718,000 arrests woman
US Customs and Border Protection officers arrested a Brownsville mother after she tried to smuggle $718,000 in cocaine through an international bridge while she had her 9-year-old daughter in the car, authorities said.
Lisa Ann Medel, 44, was arrested Thursday afternoon at the B&M International Bridge in Brownsville and later charged with one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, and conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to deliver, court records show.
On Friday, Medel went before U.S. Magistrate Judge Felix Recio, who ordered she be held without bond and remanded her to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
The arrest took place when Medel drove a green 2000 Volkswagen Passat to an inspection booth at the bridge and was referred to a secondary inspection area, said a CBP press release.
At the inspection area, CBP officers found a hidden compartment with nine bundles of cocaine weighing approximately 22 pounds inside, court records show.
Medel’s daughter was released to the custody of a relative.
