COLUMBIA COUNTY, Fla. — Three people were arrested and 30 kilograms of cocaine was seized in an Columbia County drug sting, U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg told First Coast News in a news conference Thursday.
On May 28, during the first day of a "cooperative interdiction training" the Columbia County Sheriff's Office was doing with the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office, police seized 30 kilograms of cocaine with a street value of over $1 million, Handberg said.
The training spanned over the course of two days, but it was a three-day drug sting operation in which there were three arrests made, according to Columbia County Sheriff Mark Hunter. There were also 95 Xanax pills, methamphetamine, 35 grams of oxycodone and "a little over $20,000 in U.S. currency" seized.
"Most of our federal drug trafficking cases involve the three drugs that cause the most deaths in Florida," US Attorney said. "Those are fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine. According to the Florida Medical Examiner, fentanyl caused 5,622 deaths in 2022, followed by cocaine with 2,598 deaths and methamphetamine with 2,193 deaths."
On the day the deputies seized the cocaine, Handberg says they were monitoring traffic on I-10 as part of an exercise for the training when they observed Hector Villarreal, 36, in a white SUV pass them.
Handberg says after the deputies saw Villareal fail to stay within his lane of travel, they conducted a traffic stop on him after he merged onto I-75 South.
When the deputies approached Villareal's vehicle, Handberg says they "observed that his hands were visibly trembling, and that his chest was moving up and down so rapidly," which then led them to asking if he was having a medical emergency.
"Several other red flags indicating potential criminal conduct were notable during this traffic stop, which the two deputies recognized," Handberg said. "First, Mr. Villareal's Hyundai was a rental vehicle, but he couldn't recall who rented it for him. Second, although Mr. Villareal stated that he was driving from Pasadena, Texas to Haines, City, Fla. to visit family, he indicated that he intended to stay only a few days after making what was a 16 to 18-hour drive. Third, after Mr. Villareal consented to a request to search his vehicle, three large heavy Home Depot boxes were found. The boxes were taped and they smelled like Lysol."
Handberg further stated that a can of Lysol was found underneath the passenger seat of the vehicle Villareal was driving, as he said Lysol spray is commonly used in an effort to mask the odor of narcotics.
A drug detection K-9 from the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office then alerted to the boxes, as deputies found the 30 kilograms of cocaine individually wrapped.
"Mr. Villareal was immediately arrested," Handberg said.
On Wednesday, a federal grand jury indicted Villareal on possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, according to Handberg. If convicted, Villareal faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years up to life in federal prison, he said.
Villareal also has not yet been arraigned, Handberg said, and the two other people arrested in the sting were not announced during the news conference.
