Hidalgo used clothing business owners charged with illegal exportation | MyRGV.com

Mar 22, 2025

Federal agents arrested the owners of a used clothing business Wednesday on accusations they were illegally exporting clothing into Mexico.

Estela Perez De Galvan, born in 1973, and Pedro Perez, born in 1959, were charged with smuggling goods from the United States.

Criminal complaints state they own Jaqueline’s Ropa Usada and Tamayo Ropa Usada, which are located at 1702 E. Industrial Blvd. in the city of Hidalgo.

The businesses were raided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, and Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI, on Wednesday.

During that raid, special agents also encountered the business’ manager, Claudio Armando Cazares-Gonzalez, born in 1988. He was also arrested and was charged with knowingly hiring at least 10 individuals within a 12-month period with knowledge that they weren’t authorized to be in the country.

Special agents encountered people in the country illegally working during the raid and the criminal complaint against Cazares said he admitted to hiring 15 to 20 people in the country illegally to work and that he paid them in cash.

The investigation dates to Oct. 25, 2024 when HSI agents responded to a Texas Department of Public Safety stop of a tractor-trailer for minor violations, according to criminal complaints.

The driver of the trailer gave consent to search the vehicle resulting in agents discovering several hundred bales and boxes of what appeared to be used clothing.

On the same day, agents conducted an interview with the driver who stated he was transporting the clothing to the Eagle Pass Port of Entry to be exported into Mexico, according to the complaint.

He also provided agents with export/import documents for the merchandise being transported.

“The driver was questioned about the inconsistencies observed on the export documentation that was provided to HSI (special agents), specifically the address listed as the originating supplier of used clothing listed as Jaqueline’s Ropa Usada with address of as 1702 East Industrial Blvd., Hidalgo, Texas,” the complaint said.

The documentation provided to agents showed several inconsistencies regarding the amount and value of the merchandise which listed a total approximate weight of 47,179 pounds with a declared value of $12,450.

The actual weight of the clothing totaled about 57,558 pounds with an appraisal value of more than $20,000, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection import specialists.

“The driver stated he did not pick up used clothing from Jacqueline’s Ropa Usada and that all the used clothing originated from other used clothing businesses,” the complaint said.

On Oct. 30, 2024, agents conducted an interview with Estela, one of the owners of Jacqueline’s Ropa Usada, who stated that on Oct. 25, 2024 her business sent a shipment of 100 bales of used clothing to a client in Mexico.

It was during this interview that special agents advised Estela that she needed a shipper’s export declaration in order to export clothing out of the U.S., according to the complaint.

That document goes on to describe how DPS later made a similar stop on a tractor-trailer again and discovered another load of used clothing they say was set to be illegally exported and that special agents again interviewed Estela who confirmed the clothing was from her business and destined for clients in Mexico.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, special agents interviewed Pedro following the raid. The complaint said he admitted to knowing they were illegally exporting used clothing to Mexico.

Estela, Pedro and Cazares made their initial appearances in McAllen federal court Thursday morning.