A 41-year-old Dallas woman was sentenced to over 12 years in prison after she was caught with 40 kilos of meth at the Hidalgo port of entry.

The woman, Alma Delia Rios, used her juvenile daughter during the smuggling attempt, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District Court.

Rios pleaded guilty to a charge of possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of meth in March 2022, the news release stated. According to the release, Rios was importing the narcotics on behalf of drug traffickers in Dallas.

According to the release, the meth was discovered hidden in the gas tank and door panels of the vehicle Rios was driving as she attempted to enter the United States through the Hidalgo International Bridge on October 2021.

An investigation revealed Rios drove her minor daughter — along with several friends from Dallas — to a hotel in Reynosa, Mexico. Mexican drug traffickers then hid the meth in her vehicle, the release stated.

Rio had made a similar trip in June 2021 and was able to smuggle the drugs in the same vehicle without being detected, the release stated.

Rios’ sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release. She remains on bond pending her transfer to a prison facility.