NOVI, Mich. (FOX 2) - A fentanyl kingpin who authorities say kept hubs across the United States, including in Novi, pleaded guilty last week.
Drug Enforcement Administration agents used a PlayStation box to track drugs to one of 41-year-old Maurice Montain McCoy Jr.'s hubs.
According to federal authorities, a PlayStation box was used to deliver heroin to a buyer. Investigators used the UPC from that box to track down a PlayStation that was active at a Novi condo.
When feds raided the home in July 2017, they said they found more than 65 pounds of fentanyl and more than $500,000.
"More than 15 million deadly dosages of fentanyl were seized from this organization – that is more than enough to kill the entire population of Michigan. This case is testament to the hard work and innovative thinking on the part of the men and women of the DEA Detroit Division, and our federal state, and local partners," said United States Attorney Dawn Ison.
Agents identified couriers who crisscrossed the U.S. delivering drugs, transporting money, or laundering money, leading to multiple arrests and additional seizures in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Baltimore, Maryland, where the organization also operated.
Feds said McCoy, who is from Moreno Valley, Calif., directed the organization’s activity and lived lavishly off the proceeds, purchasing a Porsche Panamera, expensive jewelry, including diamond and gold pendants for some members of his drug organization, and a home in the greater Los Angeles area.
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McCoy, who previously served ten years in federal prison for a drug conviction in California, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracy. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison with a maximum possible sentence of life in prison.
Of the 18 defendants charged, 16 have pleaded guilty and have been sentenced or are awaiting sentencing. Two defendants are scheduled for trial on Nov. 16.