A 10-kilogram plot to flood South Texas with liquid methamphetamine ended at the Columbia Bridge in Laredo — and landed Sergio Aguilar-Hernandez, 41, of Apodaca, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, behind federal bars for 90 months. The sentencing, handed down by visiting U.S. District Judge Hilda G. Tagle, marks the end of a failed smuggling run that began with a box of aloe vera drinks and ended in handcuffs.
Aguilar-Hernandez pleaded guilty on August 31, 2017, to one count of conspiracy to import a controlled substance. Not a U.S. citizen, he will face deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence. He remains in custody, pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined.
The scheme unraveled on June 15, 2017, when Aguilar-Hernandez drove a tractor trailer into the U.S. through the Columbia bridge port of entry. Hidden inside a shipment of aloe vera drinks was approximately 10.26 kilograms of liquid methamphetamine — a concentrated, high-yield form of the drug increasingly exploited by cartels to bypass detection.
Investigators revealed this was not his first attempt. Two days earlier, Aguilar-Hernandez had entered the U.S. with the same suspicious load but failed to connect with his contact in Laredo. He then drove on to Stafford to deliver a legitimate cargo, picked up a new load in Victoria, and returned to Mexico — all while still in possession of the meth-laced beverages.
On his second crossing, June 15, he came back with the same box, hoping to finally make the handoff. But border agents were waiting. The drugs were discovered during a routine inspection, halting the delivery before it could reach the streets.
The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jose Angel Moreno prosecuted. U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick confirmed the outcome, underscoring federal resolve to intercept drug trafficking at the border — one failed aloe vera shipment at a time.
Related Federal Cases
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- Eduardo Sanchez-Obregon Sentenced in Meth Smuggling Bust · Texas
- Celeste Muñoz Gets 70 Months for Meth Smuggling in Laredo · Texas
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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