Jury Convicts Woman of Smuggling Methamphetamine with a Street Value of More Than $1 Million
| Sept. 27, 2011 |
Print VersionBROWNSVILLE, Texas – A federal jury has convicted Reyna Osorio Martinez aka Reyna Osorio De Vasquez on four counts of methamphetamine trafficking, United states Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today.
Osorio, 60, of Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico, was found guilty on Friday, Sept. 23, 2011, of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, conspiracy to import into the United States more than 50 grams of methamphetamine and importation into the United States more than 50 grams of methamphetamine. The Brownsville federal jury deliberated for approximately two hours following a day and a half of trial.
The jury heard testimony that Osorio was arrested after contraband was discovered in the vehicle in which she rode as a passenger to enter the United States through the Brownsville & Matamoros Bridge Port of Entry. Osorio was the passenger in a 2002 Toyota Camry, inside of which seven bundles containing a total of 6.59 kilograms of methamphetamine were found by Customs and Border Protection officers prompting further investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents. Osorio told investigating agents that her son-in-law had purchased the vehicle in Matamoros the previous day. However, crossing records showed that she had entered the United States from Mexico in the same Camry on three prior occasions dating back to December 2010 and that she had done so with an individual who was arrested in Laredo with 6.72 kilograms of methamphetamine three days prior to this incident. Agents testified at trial that the street value of the methamphetamine smuggled by Osorio was more than $1 million.
U.S. District Judge Hilda G. Tagle, who presided over the trial, set sentencing for Dec. 19, 2011. Osorio faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years up to life imprisonment on each count of conviction. She also faces a fine of up to $10 million in addition to a five-year-term of supervised release for each count.
