El Paso men caught with cocaine get 33 months in prison
Two El Paso men were sentenced in a Las Cruces federal court to 33 months in prison after they were convicted of Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Distribute.
Federal prosecutors said Ever Omar Valdez, 26; and Javier Cruz, 27, will also have to serve two years of probation when they are released.
Valdez and Cruz were transporting 13 pounds of cocaine when they were caught at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint near Alamogordo in October 2016.
On January 11, 2017, Valdez and Cruz each pleaded guilty and admitted they entered the checkpoint on Highway 54 in a vehicle with cocaine concealed inside the rear bumper.
The cocaine was discovered by Border Patrol agents during a routine inspection, officials said.
Valdez and Cruz admitted they planned to deliver the cocaine to others in exchange for money.