Cocaine found stuffed in hollow statue of St. Joseph
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 05/29/2008 06:24:22 PM MDT


LAREDO, Texas—Customs agents in South Texas have made an unusual discovery inside a hollow St. Joseph statue: three kilograms of cocaine.
Agents found the drugs after a drug-sniffing dog alerted agents to possible narcotics in the back seat of a car crossing the border on May 22. The driver, a Mexican woman who was not identified, told agents she's been paid $80 to drive the statue across the border.

After being detained, agents said, the woman took investigators to a bus stop in downtown Laredo and pointed out the man who hired her.

Bernadino Garcia Cordova, a 61-year-old Mexican national living legally in Garland, was arrested on charges of importation of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and conspiracy. He waived his preliminary hearing in federal court in Laredo on Tuesday. He is being held without bond pending a hearing next week.

Court records do not show if Garcia has a lawyer.



Information from: Laredo Morning Times, http://www.lmtonline.com

A Dallas suburb

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_9419187