AUSTIN: Three Brownsville residents who pleaded guilty to smuggling drugs through Valley International Airport in Harlingen and McAllen Miller International Airport have been sentenced to federal prison.
Mario Enrique Patlan, 44, and his daughter Cristina Patlan, 22, appeared Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen where he sentenced both to 48 months in prison. Reymundo Abel Brown, 27, was sentenced to 24 months in prison.
Authorities said Patlan used his security credentials and position at United Parcel Service in order to move drugs through local airports.
He and Brown worked at UPS facilities in Cameron County that shipped parcels through airports in Harlingen and McAllen, according to the United States Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Texas.
The drugs were destined for Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Florida, Ohio, New York and other locations within the United States, according to the USAO, which alleges that one conspirator shipped approximately 1,000 pounds or more of marijuana.