Man hides marijuana in gas tank
ROMA -- A McAllen man remains in federal custody after attempting to smuggle almost 350 pounds of marijuana across the U.S.-Mexico border.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents stopped Jesus Santiago Medina, 31, of McAllen, just after 11 p.m. Sunday at the Roma-Ciudad Miguel Aleman Bridge, according to the probable cause affidavit in his case.
A drug-sniffing dog alerted agents to Medina’s 2000 Ford F-250, where they found 95 packages of the drug stashed in an auxiliary fuel tank. Agents estimate the drugs to be worth $278,000.
As federal authorities arrested him, Medina said he was smuggling drugs “out of necessity”, according to the affidavit.
He has previously served two years in federal prison after being caught with 750 pounds of marijuana in Jim Hogg County.
