Billings man captured in Mexico sentenced to 14 years for trafficking large quantities of narcotics

BILLINGS – A Billings man, who was a main figure in a drug trafficking organization that moved significant amounts of methamphetamine and cocaine, was sentenced Thursday to 14 years and two months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith said.

Raymond Eugene Best, Jr., 44, pleaded guilty in May 2026 to one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.

The government alleged in court documents that in 2023, law enforcement began investigating a drug trafficking ring based out of Mexico that was bringing illegal narcotics to Wyoming, South Dakota, California, Montana, including Billings, and elsewhere. The group, which included Best, was distributing methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl.

The Billings Police Department received information from a source on June 12, 2023, that Best was the “main man” in Billings, bringing in 50 to 100 pounds of meth and tens of thousands of fentanyl pills. Best was described as a non-user, but a dealer who stored drugs at other people’s houses. Another source provided additional insight into Best’s dealing in Billings.

Later that month, BPD learned about an apartment belonging to Stephanie Marie Nava, a member of the ring, that was used for storing drugs for Best. Using a search warrant, officers found 7 grams of fentanyl pills and 16.7 grams of meth in a back bedroom. 

Nava, 38, was sentenced in January 2026 to five years in prison on drug trafficking charges. 

In August 2023, law enforcement searched a co-conspirator’s hotel room in Billings and found nearly 3 pounds of methamphetamine. Investigators determined the original amount was 8 pounds, but most had been distributed to other people. Best and Nava, who were in Mexico at the time, coordinated the re-distribution of the original 8-pound quantity. An additional search on another house turned up 8 more ounces of meth.

Phone messages and other electronic communications showed Best’s continued involvement in the distribution of meth and cocaine in 2023. Messages were also being sent by Nava using the same Facebook account, including: “Are you ready for another pound yet?” and “Cause you almost paid off.”

Best was previously convicted in federal court of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine in 2012, when he was sentenced to prison for over 13 years. Best was still on federal supervised release when he committed these latest crimes.

He was eventually apprehended in Mexico after fleeing the country. Working closely with Mexican authorities, the DEA and U.S. Marshal Service captured Best and brought him back to the U.S. to face prosecution. 

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 prosecuted the case. The DEA, Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, and Billings Police Department conducted the investigation as part of the HSTF.