Laredo man who tried to conceal meth in his taco and chip ‘lunch’ sentenced to prison, feds say

A Laredo man who attempted to cross the Mexico-Texas border with drugs inside his “lunch” last year was recently sentenced to prison after pleading guilty, according to the Department of Justice.

Nicolas Castro Jr., 31, has been ordered to serve an 87-month sentence in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release, a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of Texas states.

Authorities said that on Sept. 8, Castro tried to enter the United States via the Gateway to the Americas Bridge in Laredo.

Inspectors found a plastic bag with chips and tacos, which he said was his lunch. He was referred to a secondary inspection where a K-9 officer detected drugs, later identified as meth, in the bag, the release states.

He pleaded guilty on Nov. 30.

The food contained about a kilogram of meth, which he was taking to Austin, Castro told authorities. He said he was going to be paid $1,500 to transport it, the release states.

The Drug Enforcement Agency and Customs and Border Protection investigated the case.

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