U.S. border cops have arrested a Mexican councilwoman carrying nearly 100 lb of cocaine in Texas.

Denisse Ahumada Martinez – a councilwoman for Reynosa Municipality, Tamaulipas State – was apprehended in Falfurrias, Texas on 10th June.

According to reports, she was carrying approximately 42 kilogrammes (93 lb) of cocaine as she headed to San Antonio.

She was denied bail, according to reports.

The checkpoint where Ahumada was arrested lies about 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the U.S.-Mexico border and serves primarily to tackle illegal immigration.

According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the councilwoman had hidden packages of the cocaine between the seats and doors of her Mazda pickup truck.

Border agents discovered the drugs wrapped in aluminium foil and adhesive tape after the suspicious cargo was identified using X-ray technology.

While being interviewed by the Drug Enforcement Administration, she reportedly admitted to having transported narcotics on previous occasions.

Ahumada belongs to the conservative National Action Party (PAN), which is currently Mexico’s second-largest party in the Mexican Chamber of Deputies.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and, prior to entering politics, worked in import-export and for a manufacturing company.

PAN has since distanced itself from Ahumada, stating: “The councilwoman for Reynosa, Denisse Ahumada Martinez, is not a member or affiliated with the party.”

The blonde councilwoman is believed to be just 24 years old. However, no official sources have confirmed her age.

She was elected to her position with the green-conservative Mexican Ecologist Green Party before switching sides.

In total, U.S. border agents seized 53 kilogrammes (117 lb) of cocaine – worth more than USD 3.7 million (GBP 2.9 million) – from Texas’s southern border last weekend.