CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A commercial truck driver is going to prison after being convicted of possession with intent to distribute meth and smuggling migrants, according to a press release from the United States Attorney's Office Southern District of Texas.
50-year-old Fabian Alvarado pleaded guilty on Feb. 27 and will serve 10 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. He had been convicted of drug trafficking and alien smuggling before.
On Dec. 9 , 2022, Alvarado's tractor-trailer was pulled aside at a Border Patrol checkpoint near Falfurrias for a routine inspection after a K-9 alerted to the vehicle. Border Patrol officials noted that Alvarado was, "acting suspiciously" and referred him to a secondary inspection area where five migrants were discovered in the sleeper portion of the tractor.
The release states that a bag containing 45 grams of meth and a firearm were found in the passenger seat with Alvarado's wallet. Identification papers and cell phone belonging to the migrants were also found in the glove compartment.
“Today’s prison sentence sends a resounding message to human smugglers and drug traffickers everywhere who believe they can circumvent our nation’s laws without detection or penalty,” Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) - Corpus Christi Assistant Special Agent in Charge Robert Hein said. “Working in conjunction with our partners at Border Patrol, this individual was quickly identified at the southern border as a suspected drug trafficker and human smuggler, convicted of his crimes and will spend the next 10 years in federal prison.”
Alvarado will remain in custody while waiting to be transferred to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility.
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