Mexican politician Denisse Ahumada arrested in Texas after 93 pounds of cocaine found in her car, prosecutors say

A city councilor from the Mexican border city of Reynosa has been arrested at a checkpoint in Texas after U.S. border patrol agents found about 93 pounds of cocaine in her car, prosecutors said.

On Wednesday, Denisse Ahumada was still listed as one of about 20 members of the Reynosa city council.

Court records show she was arrested on June 10 at an inland security checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas, after an X-ray inspection of her SUV showed anomalies in the door panels and the seats. Border Patrol agents found 42 packages wrapped in duct tape and foil, each containing about a kilogram of cocaine.

In a news release announcing the seizure in Falfurrias and another cocaine seizure at the Javier Vega Jr. checkpoint, Border Patrol said they had found narcotics totaling about 117 pounds with a street value of over $3.7 million  

According to prosecutors, Ahumada told agents she was supposed to have delivered the drugs to San Antonio, Texas. She also told agents she had carried such shipments before.

Ahumada did not respond to email requests for comment. She faces a charge of possession with intent to distribute drugs in the U.S. District Court for southern Texas.

Local media reported Ahumada was part of the conservative opposition National Action Party, or PAN. But in a statement Tuesday, the PAN office in the northern border state of Tamaulipas denied she was a member or supporter of the party, and condemned drug smuggling.

State party leader Luis René Cantú said Ahumada had run for office on the Green Party ticket and later asked to join the PAN, but later lost contact with the party.

Reynosa is a violent border city across from McAllen, Texas, that has long been dominated by factions of the Gulf Cartel.

The Gulf Cartel has splintered into warring factions following the arrest and extradition of some of its top leaders over the decade.

Last month, Mexican police said they arrested a top lieutenant of the violent Metros faction of the cartel implicated in 23 attacks on police and nine against military personnel. The suspect was identified as Hugo Salinas Cortinas, whose nickname “La Cabra” means “The Goat.” 

In March, the brother of Miguel Villarreal, aka “Gringo Mike,” a former Gulf Cartel plaza boss, was sentenced in Houston to 180 months in prison for his role in distributing cocaine.

The Scorpions faction of the Gulf Cartel was allegedly responsible for the recent kidnapping of four Americans and the deaths of two of them.

AFP contributed to this report.