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Court Records: Officers Catch Edinburg Man with More Than 130 Pounds of Meth

Court Records: Officers Catch Edinburg Man with More Than 130 Pounds of Meth
4 years 8 months 3 weeks ago Wednesday, January 08 2020 Jan 8, 2020 January 08, 2020 11:17 AM January 08, 2020 in News - Local
Brandon Ryan Hayden, 25, of Edinburg in a photo taken in November 2011, when he was 18 years old. (Photo courtesy of the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office.)

Officers at the Progreso bridge detained an Edinburg man on Monday, when they caught him with more than 130 pounds of methamphetamine — and 18 pounds of heroin, according to federal court records.

Brandon Ryan Hayden, 25, of Edinburg attempted to cross the Progreso bridge from Mexico to the United States at 6:12 p.m. Monday, according to the federal criminal complaint against him.

Officers sent Hayden to secondary inspection, where they searched the Ford F-150 that he was driving.

Officers found 110 packages of crystal methamphetamine, which weighed more than 130 pounds, and seven packages of heroin, which weighed about 18 pounds, according to the criminal complaint.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection contacted Homeland Security Investigations, a division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which sent a special agent to question Hayden.

“During an interview of the driver, identified as Brandon Ryan HAYDEN, he initially claimed that he was not aware that the vehicle contained narcotics, however, he informed agents that an individual had previously approached him about smuggling narcotics into the United States in exchange for payment,” according to the criminal complaint.

The agent kept questioning Hayden.

“After making these statements, HAYDEN informed agents that we (sic) was going to tell them the truth, and that he was supposed to deliver the vehicle back to the individual who had provided it to him,” according to the criminal complaint. “Additionally, agents located messages on HAYDEN’s phone indicating that prior to the seizure he was conversing with that individual about transporting narcotics.”

Hayden is charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine and more than 500 grams of heroin.

Court records don’t list an attorney for Hayden, who remains in federal custody and couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday.

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