An anonymous telephone call from an employee at Sabal Palms Sanctuary led to the arrest of a Brownsville woman on a drug smuggling charge.
Roseanna Garcia, born in 1984, is charged with one count of knowingly and willfully possess with to distribute 164.2 kilograms or 361.9 pounds of marijuana.
According to a federal criminal complaint, Garcia said she received a telephone call from a private number and was threatened to transport the drugs.
The incident happened Thursday where U.S. Border Patrol agents received the phone call from the employee who said that there was a black SUV on Sabal Palms Sanctuary property that “had no business” being there, the federal criminal complaint stated.
The agents went to the area and spotted a black Chevrolet Trailblazer driving toward the intersection of Sabal Palms Boulevard and Southmost Boulevard.
According to the federal criminal complaint, Garcia drove for about 2.1 miles before stopping for the agents who were following her.
Garcia was checked and then escorted to the backseat of a Border Patrol vehicle and when the agents searched the Trailblazer, they found four bundles in the back compartment and another bundle in the back seat, the federal criminal complaint states.
Garcia was taken into custody and her eight-year-old son, who was with her, was handed over to her grandmother.
According to the federal criminal complaint, Garcia waived her Miranda rights and said she was instructed to park her vehicle at a nearby park that is about five minutes away from her residence. Garcia “stated that she was instructed to leave her vehicle unattended, walk away, and Garcia would receive a phone call when to return back to her vehicle.”
Garcia said she knew marijuana was going to be inside her vehicle and that she never thought about calling authorities and telling them about the threat, the federal criminal complaint stated.
Garcia appeared Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ignacio Torteya III, who ordered she be held without bond. Her next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 15.
