Man who taped six bundles of meth to his thigh sent to prison
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 28-year-old resident of Los Fresnos has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction for large-scale meth trafficking, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Steven S. Whipple, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
Samuel Martinez pleaded guilty Aug. 29, 2019.
Today, U.S. District Judge David Morales ordered Martinez to serve 10 years in prison. At the hearing, the court heard evidence Martinez was smuggling the meth to Houston in order to pay a debt.
On May 2, 2019, Martinez approached the Border Patrol (BP) checkpoint located near Sarita. During inspection, a K-9 alerted to his vehicle.
Authorities then removed Martinez from his vehicle and patted him down, noticing an anomaly on his inner thigh. Martinez claimed it was a medical device.
However, upon further inspection, law enforcement located six bundles taped to his thigh that contained almost two kilograms of pure meth. Martinez then admitted he knew he was transporting narcotics for a drug cartel.
He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with assistance from BP. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel Dunn prosecuted the case.
