Woman was paid $300 to transport 5lbs of suspected fentanyl, documents state

PHARR, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Authorities found over 5 pounds of suspected fentanyl after a traffic stop in Pharr.

Cynthia Patricia Perez Ruvalcaba was arrested on charges of possessing with intent to distribute a controlled substance, approximately 2.5 kg of fentanyl, a federal complaint stated.

On Wednesday, an officer with the Pharr Police Department conducted a traffic stop on a red Nissan Sentra after noticing a defective brake lamp.

During the stop, the driver was identified as Perez, a Mexican national who was residing in the US without documentation, the complaint stated.

The officer was given consent to search the vehicle and noticed a strong acidic odor after opening the trunk where a transmission was being stored.

Perez was asked if she would follow the officer to the US Customs and Border Protection Port of Entry for further inspection, which she agreed to.

At the Port of Entry, K-9 units with CBP and the Pharr Police Department alerted officers of the presence of drugs in the trunk area, authorities said.

Officers inspected the transmission and found two packages in red tape in a clear bag. The packages contained blue, round pills with a stamped “M” inside a box. An agent recalled pills with a similar design that were found to contain fentanyl.

Perez was then questioned and admitted to picking up the transmission and transporting it to her residence, authorities said. She also said she knew the transmission contained an illegal substance but did not know what it was or how much was in it, the complaint stated.

She told officials that she was paid $300 to pick up the transmission containing the alleged drugs, which she said was the amount she was paid on other instances, the complaint noted.