A Texas man has been sentenced to decades in prison after the largest seizure of methamphetamine ever recorded in Boone County, West Virginia, according to authorities.
According to a news release from the Boone County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Steven Michael Pena, 50, received a 30-year prison sentence for smuggling nearly six pounds of methamphetamine into West Virginia.
The news release noted the judge “handed down the maximum sentence available after considering Mr. Pena’s history of prior convictions for dealing methamphetamine in the state of Texas.”
Prosecutors discovered the drugs stashed behind the dashboard of Pena’s vehicle, which they were tracking both on the ground and by helicopter.
Prosecutors praised the authorities engaged in the extensive investigation, which included various search warrants, interviews, and the collecting of physical evidence.