6 men plead guilty after RGV search yields 15 kilos of cocaine, $320K+ in cash

The men each face up to life in prison

Gavel. (Generic) (Photo by EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA)

Six men have pleaded guilty after a search in Rio Grande Valley yielded 15 kilograms of cocaine and more than $325,000 in cash.

Federal authorities said Jose Bernardo Gonzalez-Gomez, 55, and Jose Santiago Luna-Duran, 45, both Mexican citizens; Arlando Garcia-Garcia, 40, and Martin Vela-Alanis, 58, permanent residents of Edinburg; and Oscar Obed Manzanares, 21, and Martin Adrusbel Vela, 35, of Edinburg, are all accused in the cocaine trafficking conspiracy.

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They pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the charge of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine.

Federal authorities made the discovery on March 22, after Manzanares drove a GMC truck from Mexico to the U.S. and went to a business in McAllen, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Luna-Duran then took the truck to a property in Edinburg, where he was seen exchanging items between the truck and a Ford pickup, authorities said.

Garcia-Garcia drove the Ford truck to another structure on the property and removed a large duffel bag, authorities said. Vela, Vela-Alanis and Gonzalez-Gomez were all present at the time.

Authorities said they executed a search warrant and found the duffel bag with 15 bundles of cocaine, more than $90,000 in cash and a black and gold Colt Model 1911 pistol.

Luna-Duran returned to the business in McAllen, where he was detained. Authorities said they found more than $238,000 in cash inside the GMC.

The release states that they will be sentenced in December. They each face up to life in prison and a possible $10 million fine.

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About the Author:

Rebecca Salinas is an award-winning digital journalist who joined KSAT in 2019. She reports on a variety of topics for KSAT 12 News.