10 years for smuggling meth in beer

MCALLEN, Texas, April 25 (UPI) -- A woman found to have smuggled methamphetamine across the U.S.-Mexico border by hiding it in beer was sentenced in Texas to 10 years and one month in prison.

Carolina Avila, 20, who was convicted on four federal drug counts in January, was sentenced Tuesday to the prison sentence for smuggling 16 1/2 pounds of meth across the border at the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge, the San Antonio Express-News reported Wednesday.

Customs officers discovered floating particles in the beer being transported by Avila, who was traveling with her 18-month-old daughter, and the suspect initially denied knowledge of the drugs. However, she later admitted she had been transporting the meth for her father, a drug trafficker.