Man Found Guilty of Smuggling Ecstasy
A Hollywood man was convicted Wednesday of conspiring to smuggle 178,000 tablets of Ecstasy into the country.
Meir Itaev, 46, and another man flew to Europe for the drugs, which had a street value of about $4 million.
They concealed the narcotics in hollowed-out antique books, according to federal prosecutors, and tried to ship them to a drop house in Yorba Linda.
The drugs were discovered by a DHL Worldwide Express employee in Brussels, who called police, prosecutors said.
Itaev faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced Sept. 16. Co-defendant Alex Gefter pleaded guilty in April and testified against Itaev.
More to Read
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.