Texas man sentenced to 3 years in prison for smuggling cocaine in cheese
A Texas man has been sentenced to just over three years in prison after being convicted of smuggling cocaine into the United States by hiding the drug in wheels of cheese.
Aaron Balderrama, 23, told U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers that he had "a couple bags of cheese" in his vehicle as he attempted to enter the United States from Mexico, according to court documents and a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas. The officers noticed four wheels of cheese in Balderrama's car and "proceeded with a secondary inspection," according to the news release.
"Upon inspection it was revealed that the wheels of cheese contained seven bundles of a substance that tested positive for properties of cocaine," the news release said.
The news release did not state how much cocaine was found inside the cheese. The case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations, a branch of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Balderrama, who is from Odessa, Texas, and was trying to enter the country through the Presidio Port of Entry, has been sentenced to 37 months in prison for importing the drugs, the news release said.
"Drug traffickers regularly try to disguise their product and sneak illicit substances past our proven safeguards and trained agents," said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas in the news release. "Thanks to the keen eye and awareness of our port of entry partners, we continue to prevent drugs like this from infiltrating our communities and prosecute those who challenge us."