Harlingen Arrests Yield 20-Pound Marijuana Bust

Three Brownsville men were arrested and charged with possession of marijuana Monday after one of the men exiting a Harlingen FedEx shipping center was recognized to have previously attempted to ship 154 pounds of marijuana.

A Cameron County District Attorney’s Office Investigator while waiting in the center’s lobby saw Brownsville resident Eduardo Villarreal, 32, nervously exiting. The CCDA Special Investigation Unit had previously arrested Villarreal in April for attempting to ship 154 pounds of marijuana via a freight company in Brownsville.

The CCDA Investigator stopped Villarreal as he was about to enter his GMC Yukon and displayed his credentials to him and two passengers in vehicle. Passenger Jesus Walter Beltri-Ortiz, 24, then fled on foot. Nearby police units were radioed, and Beltri-Ortiz was apprehended by Valley International Airport police.

Villarreal gave the CCDA Investigator consent to search his GMS Yukon. Two cardboard boxes containing 12 bundles of marijuana totaling 20 pounds were discovered.

Villarreal, Beltri-Ortiz and the third passenger Jose Heriberto Calderon, 32, were arrested and charged with possession of marijuana. Betri-Ortiz was also charged with evading arrest. Beltri-Ortiz was to appear at an arraignment hearing today for a November 2012 possession of marijuana charge.