Man arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle nearly $5 million in illegal drugs

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Photo courtesy Austin Police Department.

Austin police have arrested a man suspected of trying to smuggle $4.8 million of illegal drugs.

The Austin Police Department's (APD) Organized Crime Division's Criminal Interdiction Unit stopped a truck on July 10 in the 12600 block of south I-35 for speeding and for failure to display a front license plate.

Officers say while speaking to the truck's driver they were cued to several clues that led them to believe he may have been smuggling illegal narcotics.

The driver gave officer consent to search his vehicle during which officers noticed anomalies around each of the truck's tires. A narcotics K9 was called in and positively alerted on the vehicle which led officers to find about 138 lbs of narcotics in metal casings inside each tire. The narcotics were as follows:

  • Cocaine - 82 lbs
  • Methamphetamines - 50 lbs
  • Heroin - 6 lbs

The driver has been identified as Armando Martinez. He was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.