United States v. Garcia-Villalba

O’SCANNLAIN, Circuit Judge:

We venture into the world of organized crime to evaluate the legality of a wiretap and a search of a stash house for illegal drugs.

I

A

This case is about a wiretap that led to the takedown of a sophisticated drug-trafficking organization. Run by members of the Garcia-Villalba family, the drug ring operated in rural Washington. Couriers made drug runs by car to Arizona, where they picked up narcotics that had been smuggled into the United States from Mexico. The vehicles contained secret “stash compartments” designed to ferry the drags back to Washington undetected.…