Laundry Detergent Boxes Filled With Pure-Quality Meth Sent To Tampa

TAMPA, FL — An Atlanta, Georgia, man has been sentenced to more than six years and six months in federal prison for pleading guilty to having a drug courier drive highly pure methamphetamine from Atlanta to Plant City and Temple Terrace in two laundry detergent boxes.

According to the Department of Justice, Jose Javier Galvan, 55, delivered 1.89 kilograms of methamphetamine imported from Mexico.

Galvan pleaded guilty on Feb. 2, 2023.

According to court documents, in July and August 2021, Galvan conspired with others to distribute high-purity methamphetamine from Guadalajara, Mexico, to Atlanta and Tampa. Galvan drove from the Atlanta area to Tampa to plan for the distribution of the methamphetamine and agreed to sell several kilograms of methamphetamine for approximately $5,700, with more drugs to follow from deliveries by a drug courier.

On July 22, 2021, Galvan traveled from Atlanta to Temple Terrace to collect more than $11,000 of the drug money owed to him for the methamphetamine delivery, according to the DOJ.

The following week, Galvan and a drug courier agreed to deliver another multi-kilogram package of methamphetamine in Tampa Bay. The drug courier drove from Atlanta with the methamphetamine contained in two laundry detergent boxes.

Law enforcement stopped the courier’s vehicle in Lowndes County, Georgia, and discovered the two laundry detergent boxes containing about 4.9 kilograms of methamphetamine.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Winter Haven Police Department, the Plant City Police Department and the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office.