TAYLOR, Mich. – A hidden compartment filled with crystal meth and two guns were discovered during the arrest of two men in a Taylor parking lot.
Jose Ignacio Moreno Servellon and Diego David Ponce are accused of three charges in a criminal complaint filed July 30, 2024.
Police follow van, car
A confidential informant told the Drug Enforcement Agency in May 2024 that Moreno Servellon tried to sell them a distribution-level amount of methamphetamine.
DEA officials began tracking Moreno Servellon. At 7:50 p.m. July 28, he was seen driving a white Ford Transit 150 van with a temporary Kentucky license plate, they said.
Moreno Servellon was driving south on I-75 near U.S. 20 in Perrysburg, Ohio, alongside an S60 Volvo with an Illinois plate, which was driven by Ponce.
Both cars traveled together onto northbound U.S. 23 and then went east on I-94. They varied speeds above and below the speed limit, officials said.
“The route and driving behavior observed on this date is indicative of traffickers avoiding law enforcement detection,” the criminal complaint says.
At 8:58 p.m. July 28, the cars pulled into the Home Depot at 11100 Telegraph Road in Taylor. They circled the lot and parked on the east side of Del Taco, officials said.
Guns found in car
Moreno Servellon got out of the van and sat in the front passenger seat of the Volvo, police said. Michigan State Police and DEA agents moved in and took both men into custody.
Officers found two Springfield Hellcat pistols in the car -- one loaded in the front center console and one unloaded on the front passenger floorboard. Police said a loaded magazine and a loose 9 mm round were found on the floor next to the unloaded pistol.
Drugs found in hidden compartment
A Michigan State Police canine searched the van and alerted officers to the cargo floorboard.
Police searched further and discovered an electronically controlled hidden compartment. Inside was a distribution-level amount of packaged crystal meth, according to authorities.
The plastic-wrapped packages weighed 55.47 kilograms, officials said.
Conclusion
The criminal complaint concludes there’s probable cause that Moreno Servellon and Ponce possessed a controlled substance with intent to distribute, conspired to do so, and possessed guns in furtherance of drug trafficking.