A Mexican national has been sentenced to 11 years in federal prison after U.S. authorities discovered over $2.8 million worth of methamphetamine hidden inside cabbage heads, federal officials announced.
Jose Angel Ibarra-Rojas, 36, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. On June 4, U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton handed down the sentence in McAllen, Texas.
The bizarre bust happened on June 18, 2024, during a traffic stop in Pharr, Texas. Ibarra-Rojas was a passenger in a tractor-trailer hauling a shipment of cabbage. Upon searching the vehicle, law enforcement uncovered 1,154 plastic-wrapped packages of crystal meth concealed inside hollowed-out cabbage heads, ICE said. The cabbages had been meticulously reassembled with their outer leaves to disguise the contraband.
Investigators estimated the drugs had a street value exceeding $2.8 million.
According to court documents, Ibarra-Rojas admitted he was aware of the drugs and had arranged for the trailer’s further transport into the U.S. interior. He told officials he was to be paid $1,000 for coordinating the logistics, and he confessed to organizing other drug shipments in the past.
“This sentencing sends a strong message: any criminal who colludes with terrorist organizations to smuggle dangerous drugs into our communities will face harsh consequences,” said Mark Lippa, Deputy Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in the Rio Grande Valley. “Thanks to the joint efforts of HSI, CBP, and local partners, we dismantled a dangerous operation and took a major quantity of meth off the streets.”
Following his prison sentence, Ibarra-Rojas will be deported to Mexico.
