A South Gate man is set to be sentenced Wednesday for running a drug trafficking ring that imported narcotics from Mexico and used modified BMWs with hidden compartments to distribute the dope throughout the country.
Joel Antonio Villegas, 37, pleaded guilty last year in downtown Los Angeles to one federal count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He faces a life prison sentence.
Prosecutors said Villegas was the orchestrator of the trafficking ring, and he would pick up the drugs and arrange sales to customers or co-conspirators. He would order associates to purchase cars, including BMWs, and install hidden trap compartments in them to conceal and transport drugs such as cocaine, heroin, marijuana and hash oil.
He also orchestrated cross-border caravans using couriers to bring narcotics into the country from Mexico, prosecutors said.
A stash house in Downey containing materials for the manufacture and distribution of narcotics, including packaging materials, pill presses, drug ledgers and money counters was also found, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Federal prosecutors said that when law enforcement served a warrant at Villegas’ home in September 2019, he set fire to paperwork inside the home and broke phones and other digital devices in an effort to destroy evidence.
Authorities searching his home found multiple firearms, $127,000 in cash and jewelry, including three Rolex watches and a gold necklace, all of which were purchased with drug proceeds, prosecutors said. An assortment of drugs were seized at the stash house.
All told, the conspiracy involved at least 8.6 pounds of heroin, 114 pounds of cocaine, 55 pounds of marijuana, and 6.5 ounces of hash oil, authorities said.