Federal authorities have arrested the owner of a trucking company accused of using his employees to move marijuana loads to various northern cities.
Javier Casas, the owner of Heavenly Transport LLC, was arrested Tuesday afternoon by agents with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement as part of an ongoing investigation that began Jan. 12 into the use of tractor-trailers to move drugs, court records show.
On Wednesday, Casas went before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dorina Ramos, who formally charged him with drug possession and drug conspiracy and ordered he be held without bond pending a detention hearing next week.
Agents with ICE's Homeland Security Investigations began looking into Casas and his company after Mathew Luna, one of his employees, was stopped at the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint with close to 400 pounds of marijuana hidden in duffle bags within a cargo of office furniture that was being driven to Kentwood, Mich.
During questioning by HSI agents, Luna said that the tractor belonged to Javier Casas and his sister and that he had picked it up at their ranch in the 15000 block of East Farm-to-Market Road 2812.
Luna said that he was driving a load of furniture but that Casas had told him to take some bags with drugs, but he didn't know what kind of drugs they were, court records show.
Luna was to meet Casas in Austin, where the drugs would be dropped off and he would go on his way. The driver said that he was to be paid $2,500 for the trip and would at times make as much as $7,000 per trip.
HSI agents traced the truck to Heavenly Transport and through the GPS tracking in the truck were able to see that on Jan. 12, the truck had left the transport yard and had stopped at Casas' ranch.
