A U.S. truck driver has pleaded guilty to charges related to a major drug trafficking operation.
On Monday, November 2, the U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of Texas announced that 52 year old Florida based truck driver Edgardo Serrano had pled guilty to a charge of money laundering.
An investigation was launched after Serrano was caught with $1,758,465 hidden inside his truck in Hidalgo County, Texas, on April 17, 2020.
Investigators discovered that Serrano was part of an operation during which “trucks would pick up cocaine from South Texas to be driven to Florida for illegal sale. Drivers like Serrano would then return to the Rio Grande Valley with the illegal drug proceeds for delivery into Mexico to drug cartel members.”
Along with the guilty plea, Serrano agreed to forfeit the $1,758,465 as illegal money obtained from the sale of cocaine.
Sentencing is now scheduled for February 9, 2021. Serrano faces up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives aided in the investigation.