Oregon Helps Take Down Cross-State Cartel That Flooded the Northwest With Fentanyl

Oregon played a pivotal role in the recent crackdown on an international drug trafficking cartel that has distributed hundreds of thousands of lethal drugs worth millions of dollars locally, to neighboring California, and primarily to Washington state.

Drug traffickers concentrated their distribution network in homeless encampments. They were busted open on 29 May when law enforcement officers swept into Beaverton in Oregon, Woodlake in California, and Washington state’s Everett, Federal Way, Issaquah, Kent, Pacific, Seattle, Tukwila, and Vancouver.

Kilograms of Lethal Drugs, Large Quantities of Cash, Caches of Firearms Seized

Sixteen search warrants were executed and investigators seized 18 kilograms of methamphetamine, more than 57,000 fentanyl pills, more than seven kilograms of cocaine,  and 17 firearms. Also seized was cash exceeding $353,000.

Confiscated Fentanyl Could Have Wiped Out the Entire Population of Seattle Twice Over

The fentanyl powder and pills seized during the investigation, ongoing since November 2023, yielded enough lethal doses to kill off the entire population of Seattle twice over, a city with a population of 755,000, according to an FBI agent.

After the 29 May raid operation, 14 people were indicted and 11 others arrested for trafficking, mostly in Seattle’s International District and homeless encampments.

The defendants are facing charges of trafficking cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine in Oregon, California, and the Western District of Washington. Some defendants are facing mandatory minimum prison terms of 10 years, based on the quantities of drugs involved.

Law enforcement officers are also investigating the citizenship status of several of the defendants.

Seattle Police Chief Shon F. Barnes says the cartel ‘preyed on the homeless and drug addicted for many years,’ terrorizing people living and working in the Chinatown-International District and South Seattle.

In a news release from the Washington Western District U.S. Attorney’s Office, the flow of dangerous drugs has been intercepted by the joint efforts of law enforcement.

• Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office, says five Washington-based members of the drug cartel have been arrested since January, and that the investigation expanded into Oregon and California because of the frequency of visits and the number of sales made in those two states.

The latest operation follows a hugely successful team effort last March when officers seized 100 pounds of methamphetamine, 111 kilos of cocaine, 19 kilos of fentanyl powder, 250,000 fentanyl pills, and four kilos of heroin with a street value of nearly $3 million.

Drug Traffickers Arrested in Operation Have Been Named

Named in the first indictment for conspiracy to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin are: U.S. citizen Octavio Salazar Palma (33) of Federal Way; Luis Soto Lara (47) of Vancouver; Juan Ramirez Recinos (41) of Burien, Washington, who was sought by law enforcement; German Juarez-Otanez, (34) of Bothell, Washington, sought by law enforcement; Alexander Emilio Cozza (42) of Seattle; Marco Antonio Bobadilla (33) of Pacific; and Isai Gamboa Pacheco (55) of Everett.

The seven defendants in the second indictment for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine are: Daniel Ibarra Loera (31) of Kent; Jose Garcia Corona (61) of Seattle; Leonardo Rojas Cruz (53) of Federal Way; Oscar Omar Serrano (31) of Algona, Washington; Juan Lopez Roblero (43) of Tukwila; Giovanni Antonio Garduno Garcia (46) of Issaquah; and Sang Su (44) of Seattle, a U.S. citizen sought by law enforcement.

The investigation was led by the FBI, assisted by Seattle Police Department and Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation,  the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program, Homeland Security Investigations, Washington National Guard Counter-Drug Program, the Oregon State Police, and Clark County, Washington Sheriff’s Office.

The case is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey Conzatti and Brian Wynne.