Judge denies family bond
Mother, daughters charged with smuggling more than $1 million in cocaine
June 24, 2008 - 9:27PM
By JAZMINE ULLOA, The Brownsville Herald
A mother and three daughters accused of trying to smuggle more than $1 million in cocaine will remain in federal custody without bail, a judge ruled Tuesday.



U.S. Magistrate Court Judge Felix Recio determined that the suspects had no residential ties in Brownsville and could beconsidered "flight-risks."



Maria Venegas Vda. de Trevino, 59, and her daughters Laura Trevino, 31, Evelia Trevino, 27, and Adrianna Trevino, 23, should remain in federal custody to ensure their appearances at future hearings, the judge said.



U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials arrested the women at the Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge June 18. The agents recovered approximately 16.5 kilograms of cocaine, authorities said.



U.S. news/" class="autolink">Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent Tomas Salazar testified in court Tuesday that the four women were detained by CBP agents after driving through the port of entry in a 2006 Mercedes Benz ML350. Agents also detained a girl, believed to be approximately 9 years old and Evelia's daughter, Salazar said.



Laura Trevino, the driver of the vehicle, was taken to a security cell while the other women attempted to run back to Mexico during the vehicle inspection, Salazar said. Video from security cameras show that the child was led away by one of the women, he said.



"Inspectors ran after them and apprehended them," Salazar said.



The three women wore "girdles" underneath their clothing with cocaine packages hidden inside, Salazar testified. The driver of the vehicle, Laura, also wore a girdle but didn't carry any narcotics, the special agent said.



Laura admitted to agents she had picked up the cocaine from a source in Mexico and distributed the packages among her family, Salazar said.



Laura also told agents she would be paid $2,000, which she was going to divide among her sisters and mother, for crossing the narcotics, Salazar said.



Border agents estimated the packages of cocaine to be worth approximately $1,164,000 in street value, according to a CBP press release.



The youngest of the women, Adrianna, told border agents at the time of her arrest that she knew the substance she carried was illegal but did not know what it was, Salazar said.



Adrianna, who graduated from Pace High School in 2002, had been residing in Brownsville for the last year and had lived in Atlanta and Florida, defense attorney Richard J.W. Nunez said.



"She's got roots in this community, born and raised," Nunez said.



However, Adrianna's running to Mexico raised "all kinds of assumptions," Recio said.



"The act of running away leaves one to assume she was willing to leave everything behind," Recio said.



Testimony revealed Adrianna had been married to Juan Pablo Oropeza, who is accused of involvement with the Oropeza Drug Trafficking Organization in Brownsville. The Oropeza family was accused of making drug deliveries to Atlanta, Georgia and Florida, prosecutor Oscar Ponce said.



Adrianna divorced Oropeza in March 2007 and should not be "guilty by association," Nunez said, adding that she has no criminal history.



Adrianna and her two sisters, Evelia and Laura, are U.S. citizens. Their mother is a Mexican national and legal U.S. resident.



"The problem that I have with each one of these cases is that there is no evidence showing significant ties to the community," Recio said.



The next hearing in the case has not yet been scheduled.

They are just upholding family values Judge


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