Mushrooms, fabricated story: Driver jailed en route to Laredo
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A 56-year-old San Diego man was taken into custody Friday after Frio County deputies discovered nearly five pounds of narcotics he was reportedly attempting to conceal in boxes of clothing.
Jacobo Aleja Steurmann Adato was driving a rented Chevrolet Suburban along Hwy 117 near Klopeck Road when deputies stopped him shortly before 11 a.m. on February 5 after spotting the vehicle traveling 15 mph above the posted limit.
Adato allegedly told deputies at the scene that he was driving from California to Laredo to deliver boxes of clothing. The self-proclaimed entrepreneur said he had left
California two days earlier and needed to have the boxed merchandise in Laredo by Friday, according to the officers’ report.
Inconsistencies in Adato’s story led deputies to seek assistance from the department’s drug-detecting canine, which alerted them to the possible presence of narcotics in the boxes.
A search of eight containers in the vehicle revealed a cache of marijuana cigarettes, psilocybin mushrooms and THC vapes and edibles.
Adato allegedly admitted to smuggling the narcotics and told deputies he had two THC vapes in his front pocket.
The man was transported to the Frio County Jail without further incident on a state jail felony charge for marijuana possession and two first-degree felony charges for manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance.
It was later determined Adato had three pounds of packaged marijuana, 700 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, and 3,000 pieces of THC products concealed in the boxes.
“We will continue to conduct active patrols in order to keep drugs out of our communities,” Frio County Sheriff Peter Salinas said. “This large amount of illegal drugs are off the streets thanks to our deputies being active and attentive on our county roads, streets, and highways.”
