Massachusetts man convicted of trafficking 4 tons of cocaine hidden in furniture

NEW YORK — A Massachusetts man was convicted on Tuesday for his role in trafficking 4 tons of cocaine from Puerto Rico to at least four continental U.S. states by concealing the narcotics in hollowed-out furniture.

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According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Abel “Coche Bomba” Montilla, 49, of Springfield, was convicted for his participation in a cocaine trafficking scheme between 2018 and 2021.

Last year, Montilla was charged, along with Pedro “Peter” Guzman Martinez, Jorge “Chinito” Miranda-Sang and Luis “Kiké” Gomez Ortiz, with participating in the narcotics trafficking organization that sold and distributed the cocaine in New York, Massachusetts, Florida and Connecticut.

Prosecutors alleged that the drug trafficking organization sent approximately 27 shipments of cargo from Puerto Rico to the U.S. The cocaine was concealed in more than 70 custom cube-shaped coffee tables and other furniture.

The shipments were manifested as furniture, but the individual pieces were hollowed out to conceal 100-kilogram quantities of cocaine. Prosecutors said that approximately 4,000 kilograms of cocaine were shipped. The estimated street value of the drugs was at least $120 million, prosecutors said.

Eight of the organization’s shipments were sent to addresses in Yonkers and the Bronx, the news release stated. They contained approximately 1,704 pounds of cocaine.

Prosecutors said Montilla coordinated the shipments, sometimes driving all night from Massachusetts to Florida to be present for a delivery. He then returned to Massachusetts to handle additional deliveries.

Prosecutors said Montilla coordinated at least a dozen drug shipments in Massachusetts and Florida, and at least 12 of the 27 shipments were sent to addresses affiliated with him.

“The unanimous jury verdict holds Abel Montilla accountable for his role in a widespread cocaine trafficking organization that flooded the streets with four tons of cocaine,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “Montilla was a coordinator of the drug trafficking organization who traveled around the country to manage the delivery of the organization’s cocaine-filled furniture.  He now faces the prospect of a lengthy prison sentence for his crime.”

Montilla faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.

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