Mexican man sentenced for importing multiple hard narcotics following ICE HSI investigation

MCALLEN, Texas - Special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) led an investigation resulting in the sentencing of a Mexican man who was convicted for importing cocaine, meth and fentanyl.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) assisted in the case.

On Feb. 14, District Judge Randy Crane sentenced Jairo Esnid Pina-Carrillo, 32, of Mexico to 70 months in prison. In handing down the sentence, the court noted Pina-Carrillo appeared to be a trusted member of the drug trafficking organization based on the number of times he admitted to smuggling narcotics and the amount and type of the narcotics. Pina-Carrillo pleaded guilty Dec. 2, 2021.

According to court documents, on the morning of July 27, 2021, Pina-Carrillo arrived at the Anzaldua Port of Entry from Mexico where he was attempting to enter the United States. He presented his Mexican border crossing card and claimed he intended to cross for a job-related duty in Brownsville, Texas. Upon inspection, a canine alerted to Pina-Carrillo’s vehicle. CBP officers found a total of five packages of narcotics in a lunch bag and a backpack located inside the vehicle. He expected to be paid $800 per package for importing the drugs.

The drugs totaled approximately one kilogram each of cocaine and fentanyl and three kilograms of heroin. Pina also admitted to importing narcotics on at least six other occasions.

Pina-Carrillo remains in federal custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Colton Turner, of the Southern District of Texas, prosecuted the case.

HSI is a directorate of ICE and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 7,100 special agents assigned to 220 cities throughout the United States and 80 overseas locations in 53 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.