A man arrested on I-70 with 220 pounds of cocaine was convicted Friday by a U.S. District Court jury of possession of more than five kilograms of cocaine - a conviction that could land the Mexican national a 10-years-to-life sentence in a federal prison.
The sentencing date for Fernando Antonio Largo-Montenegro, 29, also known as Nicolas Becerra-Lopez, of Veracruz, was not available.Largo was eastbound on I-70 when Emery County deputy sheriff Richard Graham stopped Largo's van after watching it weave repeatedly across the center line. Largo claimed to be a plumber on his way to New Jersey.
The deputy, a part-time plumber himself, became suspicious when he asked Largo what fixtures he used in his business the man replied, "Sinks and drains."
Defense attorney James Esparza contended that Largo did not know the cocaine, worth an estimated $30 million, was in the vehicle, and that he was driving the van from California to New Jersey on someone else's behalf.
However, four keys that unlocked garment bags containing the cocaine were within arm's length of Largo when he was pulled over. The cocaine was found hidden in a false ceiling of the van.
Prosecutors showed where shortly before his arrest, Largo flew from Los Angeles to New Jersey where he applied for a driver's license and paid $600 cash for a plane ticket to Miami and then back to Los Angeles.
U.S. Attorney for Utah Dee Benson said the 99 kilos of cocaine - one kilo short of the record amount seized in Utah - could have provided almost 1 million individual doses on the street.