Brownsville trafficker sent to prison for importing 25 bricks of meth

U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas

McALLEN, Texas – A 27-year-old man has been sentenced for importing meth, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Juan Adame II pleaded guilty March 11, 2022.

Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane has now ordered Adame to serve 57 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence Adame had an integral role in smuggling illegal narcotics into the United States. In handing down the sentence, the court noted traffickers could not succeed without the willing participation of transporters like Adame.

On April 8, 2021, Adame claimed he had no illegal drugs in his vehicle when arriving at the Progresso Port of Entry.

Authorities referred him to secondary inspection where a K-9 alerted to the odor of narcotics. A subsequent search revealed 25 bricks of meth, weighing approximately 24 kilograms and hidden in compartments within the vehicle’s wheel wells.

The meth had an estimated street value of approximately $60,000.

At the time of his plea, Adame admitted he knew he was smuggling narcotics and had done so on multiple occasions.

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

Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodore Parran III prosecuted the case.