27 Oct 2 men face charges after 121 pounds of cocaine seized in Mission

Two men face federal drug charges after agents seized about 121 pounds of cocaine from a Mission residence and a vehicle, according to a criminal complaint.

Carlos Guadalupe Bautista, born in 1989, and Sergio Enrique Navarro, born in 2007, are each charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

Agents served a search warrant at the home Friday and found 47 duct-tape-wrapped bricks of suspected narcotics, along with cash, a loaded firearm and a bag of a green leafy substance. One brick from the house and one from a Dodge Charger tested positive for cocaine, the complaint states.

The case traces back to Oct. 13, when Homeland Security Investigations agents in McAllen were called to the Anzalduas International Bridge after a smuggler was found with 14 pounds of cocaine. That person told agents a Mission residence was a stash house where drugs were unloaded.

Agents began watching the home Friday. They saw a white Cadillac leave at high speed, switch lanes repeatedly with no apparent destination and then come back to the house, which agents said, based on their training and experience, is consistent with counter-surveillance. Later, the Cadillac and the Charger left the area together and stayed together until the Charger turned into a San Juan neighborhood. The Cadillac continued past it and returned to the Mission home.

At about 12:18 p.m., both vehicles left again, and officers stopped each one. Bautista was at the wheel of the Charger, and Navarro was riding with him. A K-9 alerted to the car, and officers found a duct-tape-wrapped brick inside a backpack hidden beneath the hood by the engine. Both men were arrested.

Bautista accepted responsibility for the drugs in an interview with authorities and admitted putting the brick in the Charger, but said he forgot it was there. Navarro admitted he went with Bautista to transport drugs from Mission to San Juan and had earlier helped him load vehicles, according to the complaint.

Both men made their first court appearance Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nadia S. Medrano. A preliminary examination and detention hearing is set for Wednesday.