Santa Teresa, NM (KKOB) – A November drug seizure at the Santa Teresa Port of Entry resulted in the seizure of 11 pounds of fentanyl powder at the New Mexico border crossing and the arrest of a former immigration broker who is now indicted by a federal grand jury.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found the drugs after a low energy X-ray scan alerted them to suspicious items behind the front seats of a car driven by Daniela Paola Valles. Court documents allege she has crossed vehicles loaded with drugs on four to five occasions for an unnamed Mexican criminal organization. She told officers that she was instructed to cross the border and stay at hotels in Albuquerque until someone comes to pick up the drugs and drive her back to Mexico.
A grand jury returned the indictment alleging Valles imported fentanyl from Mexico and possessed fentanyl with intent to distribute…