Man sentenced to 12 years in prison in cocaine trafficking case

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- A 39-year-old man was sentenced to 12 years in prison for smuggling more than six kilograms of cocaine, according to a press release from District Attorney Hames Montoya.

A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper arrested Jose Villa in October 2023 after stopping his truck near the I-10 Clint exit. Evidence in the case said Villa raised the trooper's suspicion, prompting a search.

The trooper found six bundles wrapped in electrical tape under the truck's bed. They tested positive for cocaine. Villa denied knowing about the drugs at first, but later admitted to agreed to pick them up at a gas station near the Ysleta Port of Entry.

The bundles weighted 6.9 kilograms, according to the district attorney.