Mexican man pleads guilty to drug smuggling near Osoyoos
By Contributor
A 19-year-old Mexican National male charged with possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking will face sentencing later this month.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the United States Border Patrol (USBP) combined efforts to arrest two males near the Boot Lake area East of Oroville/Osoyoos Lake (Friday) January 3 of this year.
Andy Garcia-Macias was arrested shortly after he and another male crossed the border from the United States into Canada.
Garcia-Macias was carrying a backpack containing nine bricks of cocaine weighing approximately nine kilograms.
The second male had fled back to the United States and was arrested by USBP. At the time, he had nothing in his possession. A thorough search of the arrest area in Canada revealed a second backpack containing an additional eight kilograms of cocaine.
This investigation is an example of excellent inter-agency collaboration involving the United States Border Patrol, RCMP Federal Serious and Organized Crime (FSOC) and Osoyoos RCMP, says Cpl. Laurie White, RCMP FSOC spokesperson.
Garcia-Macias has entered a guilty plea and sentencing will take place (Monday) May 26.
