DETROIT (WWJ) -- A narcotics trafficker will spend 22 years in federal prison for leading a drug organization that distributed fentanyl, heroin and cocaine across the U.S.
His downfall? Shipping drugs in a box linked to a video game system set up in his stash house.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Maurice Montain McCoy, Jr, 41, or Moreno Valley, California, ran a drug and money laundering conspiracy with distribution arms in several U.S. cities, including Novi.
During their raid of the Novi stash house, the DEA seized more than 30 kilograms of fentanyl and over half a million dollars in cash. This was the largest fentanyl seizures in Michigan and one of the largest in the country.
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Federal officials found the drug house by tracing a UPC code from a Sony PlayStation box used to deliver heroin to a customer. The gaming system itself was set up and turned on in the stash house.
Additional raids and seizures were carried out in Indianapolis, Indiana and Baltimore Maryland. Authorities also arrested a number of couriers and high-spending customers, many of whom were indicted and pleaded guilty.
McCoy was charged and convicted of directing the organization's activity. It appears he lived lavishly off the proceeds, buying a Porsche, expensive jewelry and a $500,000 home in Los Angeles.
Because McCoy had a previous federal drug conviction -- for which he spent ten years in prison -- he faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years for this most recent crime. The maximum possible sentence was life in prison, but a U.S. District Judge settled on 22 years.
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