MCALLEN – A teacher was arrested this week for his role in a cocaine trafficking ring. He also admitted to working for a Mexican drug trafficking organization.

Jorge Ignacio Cavazos was a teacher with the McAllen Independent School District at the time of his arrest. He’s on administrative leave as he sits behind bars.

Cavazos faces federal charges for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine.

A criminal complaint states in July 2017, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations in McAllen received information from Customs and Border Protection officers at the Pharr Port of Entry regarding a vehicle loaded with narcotics.

According to the criminal complaint, a Mexican national attempted to enter the country with 11 kilograms of cocaine in a concealed compartment of a black Nissan Altima.

Late last year, the same vehicle was used on several occasions to bring drugs into the country for a drug trafficking organization operating in Reynosa.

Once the loaded vehicle crossed into the U.S., it was turned over to someone, who was later identified as Cavazos.

He was arrested Monday and interviewed by HSI agents. They say during questioning, he confirmed he’d worked with the drug trafficking organization since 2016.

He also admitted the drug shipments were a weekly occurrence.

Cavazos was the man responsible for receiving the loaded vehicles and extracting “several kilos of cocaine and sometimes other narcotics.”

Cavazos will return to federal court later this week where a judge will set bond.

He remains in U.S. Marshals’ custody.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS reached out to the McAllen Independent School District. The school district provided us with the following statement, which reads in part: 

On late Wednesday evening, we secured confirmation of the arrest of one of our teachers. We are following our protocols and have placed him on administrative leave and are notifying the Texas Education Agency of the situation.

Due to laws protecting privacy rights, we are limited in the information we can disclose. However, we want to reassure the community that the safety of our students and staff remains our top priority. We are committed to maintaining a school environment that is conducive to teaching and learning.

Count on us to keep you updated on this story.