Texas Man Gets 46 Months for Smuggling Cocaine Through West Alabama

A Texas man has been sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison for smuggling six kilograms of cocaine along Interstate 20/59 in Greene County, a case that began with a 2023 traffic stop and ended with cocaine hidden inside hollowed-out vehicle batteries.

Brandon Azael Lopez, 30, of McAllen, Texas, was sentenced Thursday to 46 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Annmarie C. Axon in Birmingham.

Lopez pleaded guilty in October 2025 to possession with intent to distribute cocaine, according to a release from U.S. Attorney Phillip W. Williams Jr. of the Northern District of Alabama.

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According to the plea agreement, an agent with the 17th Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force stopped Lopez on December 12, 2023, for a lane change violation on I-20/59 in Greene County.

Lopez reportedly appeared nervous and gave conflicting information about his destination during the stop. When the agent asked to search the vehicle and Lopez consented, the agent found a new battery jump box under the front passenger seat and jumper cables in the back. Under the hood, he noticed two batteries with extensive tooling marks, pry marks and glue, and found they felt unusually light. The batteries had been hollowed out and contained the cocaine, according to the release.

Williams credited the 17th Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force for the interdiction work that led to the arrest.

Greene County is approximately 40 miles southwest of Tuscaloosa.

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