Francisco Villegas-Garcia, a 37-year-old Mexican national, was sentenced to ten years in prison by the U.S. District Court in Columbus for his involvement in a fentanyl conspiracy. Villegas-Garcia played a significant role in a drug trafficking organization linked to Mexico, which distributed large quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine.
Court documents revealed that Villegas-Garcia frequently traveled from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Columbus as part of his operations. During one traffic stop in Charlotte, agents confiscated $100,000 in cash from him.
The DEA field offices in Charlotte and Columbus conducted further investigations. They found that Villegas-Garcia communicated regularly with other members of the organization about their drug supplies and sales, money transfers to Mexico, and arranging couriers for these transactions. He maintained contact with the source of the drugs in Mexico.
In January 2023, agents executed a search warrant at Villegas-Garcia's home on Willowswitch Lane in Columbus. They discovered eight kilograms of fentanyl and its analogue along with $120,000 hidden inside the wall.
Villegas-Garcia was detained and later arrested at Los Gauchos Taqueria on South Hamilton Road in Columbus during January 2023. At that time, he possessed 28 grams of cocaine and over $10,000 in cash.
He pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to distribute and possess fentanyl with intent to distribute it in March 2024.
Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, along with Andrew Lawton, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Detroit Field Division announced the sentence handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr. Assistant United States Attorney Damoun Delaviz is prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation aimed at dismantling high-level criminal organizations threatening the United States through a coordinated multi-agency approach.
