Billings man pleads guilty to drug charges

BILLINGS - A Billings man who trafficked significant amounts of methamphetamine admitted to charges today, Acting U.S. Attorney Tim Racicot said.

The defendant, Joshua Jacob Best, 40, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Best faces 15 years to life in prison, a $20,000,000 fine, at least 10 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided and will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for October 1, 2026. Best remained detained pending further proceedings.

The government alleged in court documents that a drug smuggling ring run out of Mexico and operating in Wyoming, South Dakota, California, and Montana, had operators in Billings. Billings police learned through an informant in June 2023 that Raymond Best was bringing "pounds of meth" and other drug into Billings.

Over the course of the next several months, investigators learned Best's brother, Joshua Best, was helping move cash and drugs between Mexico and Billings. During an undercover operation in October 2023, Joshua Best arranged to deliver $67,000 in the Walmart parking lot to an undercover agent who would then transport the money to the Los Angeles area. Best showed up to make the drop in a black Chevy Camaro.

In January 2024, following a lead from the DEA, law enforcement pulled over a courier in a rental car after it had left Des Moines, Iowa, and discovered 57 pounds of methamphetamine, approximately 1 kilogram of cocaine and approximately 2 pounds of marijuana. The rental car had been arranged by Joshua Best, who was the contact to pick up the drugs once they reached Billings.

Then in March 2024, Joshua Best crashed a black Chevy Camaro on Monad Road. He ran from the scene, dropping two heat-sealed bags as he fled. Officers served a search warrant on the Camaro and found a vacuum sealed bag containing 496.4 grams of methamphetamine on the driver's side floor. Also in the car were numerous documents belonging to Joshua Best even though he was not the registered owner.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Montana comprises agents and officers from a number of federal agencies as well as drug task forces throughout the state, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Montana.

The U.S. Attorney's Office is prosecuting the case. The Billings Police Department and Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force conducted the investigation as part of the HSTF.

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