Frio deputies uncover huge drug cache in Hwy 57 stop

PROTECTED CONTENT

If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.

Lost your password?

Username and Password Help

Please enter your email and we will send your username and password to you.

← Back

KILOS OF METH, COCAINE, FENTANYL AND CASH

Law enforcement officers intercepting a drug shipment being transported through Frio County on Hwy 57 last week display the bundles of contraband found in luggage in a sport utility vehicle

An Eagle Pass woman landed behind bars last week after Frio County deputies discovered a large cache of narcotics and currency that she had allegedly attempted to conceal in a duffel bag.
Frio County deputies say the driver, later identified as 35-year-old Magda Ramires de Ortiz, was stopped for a number of moving violations near Hondo Creek along Highway 57 at around 6:30 p.m. Thursday, August 31.
During the officers’ roadside interview with Ramires de Ortiz, the 81st District Attorney Investigator’s drug-detecting canine alerted law enforcement officials to the possible presence of narcotics in the Lincoln Navigator sport utility vehicle.
The woman was immediately placed in handcuffs as deputies searched her vehicle. They uncovered
a black duffel bag with several packages wrapped in black tape. The packages included 13 kilograms of methamphetamine, 3.4 kilograms of cocaine, 63 grams of fentanyl and $10,000 in United States currency.
Traveling with Ramires de Ortiz were two females and three juvenile boys.
According to a report on the case, deputies discovered 42 grams of methamphetamine hidden under a rear seat on the driver’s side of the SUV.
Frio County Chief Deputy Peter Salinas said that the five individuals who had been passengers in the Lincoln were released pending the outcome of an ongoing investigation into narcotics trafficking. Ramies de Ortiz was transported to the Frio County Jail without further incident and faces a number of felony narcotics charges.
Emergency dispatchers have confirmed Ramires de Ortiz did not have insurance coverage on the vehicle and was driving without a valid driver’s license.
“We would like to acknowledge the strong partnerships we have grown with Investigator Kaufman and the 81st District Attorney’s office,” the chief deputy. “It is these partnerships that allowed for the removal of these substances from our communities and their neighborhood streets.”