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Juarez man allegedly headed to job interview at El Paso Whataburger admits knowing family car was loaded with drugs
Bundles containing methamphetamine were seized from a car coming over from Mexico at the Ysleta port of entry in El Paso, Texas, on December 2023.
EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – An El Paso federal grand jury has charged a Juarez man with importing nearly 77 pounds of methamphetamine to the U.S. The drugs were hidden inside a family vehicle a relative was using to take his two grandchildren to class at Socorro High School in El Paso, investigators allege.
Authorities said the grandfather, Fermin Sandoval, drove up to the Ysleta port of entry in a Chevrolet Sonic compact with Mexican license plates carrying the two high school students and an adult identified as Gael Alejandro Sandoval. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers asked Fermin Sandoval who the vehicle belonged to and where he was headed. Fermin Sandoval said he was taking his grandkids to high school as he does every day class is in session, and that the car belonged to his daughter.
Court records show the CBP officer inspected the vehicle and found anomalies in the back. The officer called for backup and allegedly found 65 black-taped bundles hidden in rear bumper panels. A sampling of the contents found the bundles concealed methamphetamine with a total weight of 34.86 kilograms (76.8 pounds); the driver, passenger and minors were placed in hand restraints and taken to an interview area, records show.
Driver Fermin Sandoval consistently stated he was only taking his grandchildren to school and told officers everyone in his household had access to the vehicle. Passenger Gael Sandoval initially said he was going to El Paso for a job interview at a Whataburger restaurant but later allegedly told Homeland Security Investigations agents he planned to “drop off” the Chevy Sonic at an El Paso mall.
Federal court records show agents began a recorded interview with Gael Sandoval, in which he allegedly admitted to knowing the vehicle had narcotics but that he “didn’t know what type of narcotics.” He allegedly told them he would receive $1,000 from unnamed parties after delivering the vehicle.
On Wednesday, a jury in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas charged Gael Sandoval with one count of importation of a controlled substance and one court of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute in connection with the Dec. 8 event. He is set to be arraigned on Jan. 16 in U.S. Magistrate Judge Anne T. Berton’s courtroom in El Paso.
There is no record of the grandfather being charged in federal court. The names of the students were not disclosed. In El Paso, it is common to see U.S.-born children from parents living in Mexico coming over the international bridges to attend class.
