Trafficker sent to prison after cocaine found in battery

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 28-year-old Illinois resident has been sentenced for possession with intent to distribute more than four kilograms of cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Rodrigo Mendez pleaded guilty Sept. 1, 2022.

U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos has now ordered Mendez to serve 78 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.

On June 23, 2022, Mendez approached the Border Patrol (BP) checkpoint near Sarita driving a Porsche Cayenne. Following a K-9 alert, law enforcement conducted a search of the vehicle and found 4.34 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside a battery under the driver’s seat.

The investigation linked Mendez to 10 previous trips from South Texas to the Chicago, Illinois, area to transport narcotics. Authorities also linked seven other narcotic seizures to the same organization where the drugs were found inside the vehicle’s battery. Six of those seizures also involved cocaine.

Mendez has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with the assistance of BP. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley Pruitt and John Marck prosecuted the case.