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TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that a Collier County man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for trafficking cocaine and methamphetamine. Armando Compean, of Immokalee, pleaded guilty to trafficking in more than 400 grams of cocaine and more than 200 grams of methamphetamine. He was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.

The investigation into Compean, 32, began in February when a confidential informant alerted authorities that a large amount of cocaine and methamphetamine was scheduled to be transported from California to Florida. The rental van being used to transport the drugs was put under surveillance and the driver was pulled over by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office during a traffic stop. A K-9 unit alerted to drugs, and the vehicle was taken to an impound lot where more than 1,000 grams of cocaine and 1,300 grams of methamphetamine were discovered hidden in compartments behind the dashboard and seats of the van.

Compean was subsequently arrested and admitted to detectives that he had flown to California to assist in the transportation of the drugs to Florida. In addition to his prison sentence, he must also reimburse the state for the costs of the prosecution and pay a $250,000 fine. Today’s sentence was handed down by Lee County Circuit Court Judge Thomas S. Reese.