Texas duo sent to jail for trying to transport 558 pounds of liquid meth

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (Valley Central) — A Brownsville resident has been sentenced to prison for helping transport £558 of liquid meth in a gas tank, the US Attorney’s Office has announced.

Ernesto Vargas, 42, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess liquid meth for the purpose of distributing it from South Texas to Dallas.

Vargas was responsible for helping San Benito resident Pedro Rodríguez III, 45, transport meth across the state in early January, according to the US Attorney’s Office.

On January 11, authorities implemented a traffic stop for the vehicle Rodriguez was driving because he changed lanes without signaling.

During the traffic stop, authorities discovered Rodriguez pending a government warrant and detained him.

Authorities later searched Rodriguez’s car and found about 558 pounds of liquid meth, worth about $650,000, hidden in the gas tank.

Rodriguez admitted he knew the meth was in the gas tank and agreed to have the drugs shipped to the Dallas area.

Federal prosecutors said an investigation revealed that Rodriguez and Vargas received liquid meth from co-conspirators in Mexico and planned to ship meth north for distribution.

Vargas was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison and Rodriguez was sentenced to 10 years.

Rodriguez and Vargas were also ordered supervised release after imprisonment for five years.