A former Baja California state police officer who tried to drive through the San Ysidro port of entry in a vehicle loaded with drugs was sentenced Friday to just over three years in prison.

Victor Alfonso Moreno-Mejia, 35, who Mexican officials said had been an officer for seven years, was arrested last year with about 100 kilograms of cocaine in his car.

A criminal complaint filed in federal court states that Moreno-Mejia’s vehicle was inspected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, who discovered 35 packages hidden in the driver’s seat, passenger seat and back seats of the car.

According to the complaint, Moreno-Mejia told investigators he did not know there were drugs in his car, but stated that days earlier he had dropped off his car at a Tijuana mechanic shop he had previously investigated ” for possible connections. to the cartels.”

His plea agreement states that Moreno-Mejia left his vehicle at the mechanic’s shop for a week and was told that after he got it back, he would have to drive the car in the United States. Prosecutors say he did not inspect what his vehicle might contain, but was aware of the possibility that it might have been loaded with drugs.

Moreno-Mejia pleaded guilty to a federal cocaine importation charge and was sentenced Friday to 39 months in prison.