Shocking Bust: Rancher Couple Nabbed in 23-Pound Cocaine Smuggling Operation

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EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A rancher and his wife have been charged with federal drug offenses after authorities allege they crossed back into the United States from Mexico with 23.3 pounds of cocaine hidden in their pickup truck.

On Sunday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Santa Teresa Port of Entry in New Mexico detected irregularities in a vehicle using a low-energy X-ray as it passed through the border checkpoint.

A record $13 million in heroin was previously seized at a border crossing.

Officials stopped the red Dodge Ram at an inspection booth to question the driver and passenger, who were later identified in court documents as Federico Rocha Lucero and Veronica Solano. The couple claimed they were on their way back to Albuquerque, New Mexico, after visiting family and spending time at a ranch owned by Rocha in Durango, Mexico.

The officers directed the truck to a secondary inspection area, where a drug-sniffing dog signaled the presence of possible drugs in the rear seats of the vehicle.

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Rocha said the Ram was “returned” with no visible damage after being missing for four days and that he and his wife returned to the U.S. in it afterwards.

Interviewed separately, Solano allegedly said she “had nothing to do with what’s going on” and that her husband “made her drive” during this return trip to the U.S. and a previous trip they took. CBP said the couple last crossed from Mexico to the United States last Aug. 19.

Court records allege the wife volunteered to agents that her husband “has been doing drugs,” has a criminal record and a pending court date in Albuquerque.

A search of the couple’s cellphones allegedly revealed they had made multiple calls during the time they claimed not having cellphone service. A WhatsApp message thread also revealed Solano had arranged with an unknown individual to pick up the Ram for the return trip.

Solano declined to answer additional questions and called for an attorney.

Rocha and Solano made an initial appearance on Wednesday in U.S. federal district court in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on charges of importation and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. They have a preliminary detention hearing on Nov. 10.