CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — A South Texas man has been sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison in a drug smuggling case linked to fishing boats.
A federal judge in Corpus Christi on Wednesday sentenced 40-year-old Julio Alberto Chapa. Chapa in May pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle marijuana.
Prosecutors say the 40-year-old Corpus Christi man led a group that used boats to smuggle marijuana from Mexico.
Chapa was arrested March 5 when a Corpus Christi police officer noticed two trucks and a van on the beach. Investigators say the officer saw a boat nearby and bundles being put into the van. Officials later determined the confiscated bundles contained marijuana.
Chapa, who owned the vehicles, was among several people arrested.
