Brian Houston is seen hugging the bride at his wedding on the U.S.-Mexico border on Nov. 18, 2017. ( Credit: GUILLERMO ARIAS/AFP/Getty Images)

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When Brian Houston wed his Mexican fiancee in a surprise ceremony during a rare opening of the steel gate on the U.S.-Mexico border fence last month, he said it was because he could not cross into Tijuana. 

Now we know why. 

Houston, a U.S. citizen, is awaiting sentencing in San Diego federal court on a drug smuggling conviction — a fact that the Border Patrol says it did not know when it ran a background check on him clearing him to participate in the cross-border event at Border Field State Park. 

Houston was arrested in February as he crossed through the San Ysidro Port of Entry.  Found hidden in his Volkswagen Jetta were 43 pounds of heroin, 47 pounds of methamphetamine and 43 pounds of cocaine, according to the complaint. 

Read the full story on LATimes.com. 

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