LOS ANGELES (KESQ) – A South Gate man was sentenced today to a dozen years behind bars 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.
Villegas was the leader of the trafficking ring, and he would pick up the drugs and arrange sales to customers or co-conspirators. He ordered 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, court papers show…