Bellingham man among 12 arrested for suspected roles in drug trafficking organization
A 54-year-old Bellingham man was one of 12 arrested Wednesday for their roles in a suspected drug trafficking organization distributing fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine throughout the Puget Sound region.
During the investigation, agents seized more than 20,000 pills pressed to look like oxycodone but tainted with fentanyl, six pounds of heroin, nine pounds of methamphetamine, $100,000 in cash, four firearms and vehicles outfitted with “traps” to hide and smuggle drugs and money, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release on the arrests.
Using estimated street values from addictioncenter.com, the total value of the drugs seized could have been well over $1 million.
Bellingham’s Juan Hernandez-Hernandez is suspected of possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute and will make an appearance in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington Wednesday or Thursday, Aug. 5-6.
Also arrested Wednesday and named in at least one of two grand jury indictments, according to the release, were: Delmer Velasquez-Lacuna, 23, Seattle; Rodrigo Alvarez-Quinonez, 31, Selma, California; Elias Neftali Montes-Sevilla, 30, Federal Way; Gustavo Sandoval-Agurcia, 38, Burien; Jorge Uriel Esquivel-Mena, 31, Fairfield, California; Francisco Javier Esquivel-Mena, 32, Aloha, Oregon; Wilmer Galindo-Maradiaga, 26, Seattle; Jose Cruz-Hernandez, 31, Mountlake Terrace; Jose Fernando Escoto-Fiallos, 32, Mountlake Terrace; Jose Alberto Ramos, 59, Selma, California; Baldemar Martinez-Rico, 28, Kent; and Saul Suarez-Mata, 34, Bellevue.
The members of the alleged organization engaged in trafficking activities from Mexico through California and Oregon to the North Puget Sound region the release stated.
“While most Puget Sound residents have been in ‘lockdown’ status because of the pandemic, our investigators and prosecutors continued pursuing those endangering our communities with indiscriminate sales of fentanyl tainted pills, heroin and methamphetamine,” DEA Special Agent in Charge Keith Weis said in the release. “The tough job of removing this criminal organization was accomplished through the sheer determination and dedication to our community’s safety by our law enforcement professionals.”
Hernandez-Hernandez is suspected of possessing fentanyl in Seattle on Dec. 31, 2019, federal charging documents filed July 29 state, while the criminal organization he is alleged to be a part of is suspected to have operated in the region at least the past five years.
“I have had heartbreaking conversations with the parents of young people who died from fentanyl overdoses linked to counterfeit pills,” U.S. Attorney Brian Moran said in the release. “We are making it a priority to get these deadly drugs off the streets.”
This story was originally published August 5, 2020 at 3:53 PM.
