$1.6 million in crystal meth seized on I-10

A Mexican man, who told authorities he was in America on vacation, had his trip cut short Friday and will get to experience the American judicial system first hand after he was arrested for smuggling almost $1.6 million in crystal meth.

Department of Public Safety officials say that Eduardo Hernandez-Casas, 38, of Mexico, was apprehended on I-10 near Harwood with 32 lbs. of crystal methamphetamine (crystal meth) concealed inside the tires of the vehicle he was driving.

DPS officials reported that at 9:21 a.m. Friday, a 2005 Jeep Liberty SUV driven by Casas was eastbound on I-10 near the Harwood exit when a trooper noticed the vehicle’s rear license plate was obscured and stopped him.

“Upon talking to the driver, he appeared to be nervous,” the DPS trooper reported. “He said he was going to Houston for a day, then return to Mexico the next day. But he didn’t have any luggage or clothes in the vehicle.”

When the trooper asked Casas whose SUV it was, he said it belonged to his girlfriend.

“But when I asked him her name, he was barely able to give me her first name,” the trooper said. “I would think if it were your loved one or family member, you would be able to remember their full name pretty easily.”

After Casas gave permission to search the vehicle, the trooper noticed something peculiar about the tires.

“I could see the tooling on the lug nuts, which indicated the tires had been recently removed,” the trooper said. “When I tapped the tire, it sounded pretty solid. When I compared the sound to the tire of my patrol car, I could immediately tell something was in his tires.”

DPS then detained Casas, and towed the vehicle to a Gonzales wrecker service where workers removed the tires. Inside each of the four tires were aluminum boxes attached to the rims.

“Each tire contained eight bundles of what field-tested to be positive for crystal meth. This was 16 kilos total – 32 lbs. – with an approximate street value of $1,589,575,” he said.

“When they let the air out of the tires, they didn’t go all the way flat,” the trooper added. “That should tell you something.”

Casas was taken into federal custody in San Antonio, where he is expected to have charges filed against him in federal court in the western district of Texas for possession with intent to deliver crystal meth.