Man charged in cocaine Jesus probe

LAREDO, Texas, May 29 (UPI) -- A Texas man is facing criminal charges for allegedly trying to smuggle a Jesus statue made of cocaine into the United States from Mexico, officials say.

Bernardino Garcia-Cordova, 61, was charged with cocaine importation and possession after a woman was stopped with the drug statue last week at the U.S.-Mexico border, the Houston Chronicle reported Thursday.

It is reported drug sniffing dogs led authorities to find out the statue was made of 6 pounds of cocaine worth $30,000.

The woman said she had no idea the item was made of drugs and was only trying to help a man who said he had to lug too many belongings and would giver her $80 to hold onto the statue.

Garcia-Cordova was arrested Tuesday when he arrived to meet the woman at a Laredo, Texas, bus station to pick up the drugs, the Chronicle said.

He told federal authorities he was instructed to deliver the statue to a man in Dallas known as "The Spider."