Seattle man sentenced for role in Whatcom County fentanyl distribution ring
A Seattle man who pleaded guilty to drug distribution and firearm crimes related to a Whatcom County drug trafficking ring was sentenced May 9 to eight years in prison.
Mohamed Abdirisak Mohamed, 35, was one of six people charged federally in a monthslong investigation of fentanyl dealing in Whatcom County. The ring was moving fentanyl from the Seattle area to redistributors in Bellingham, according to a DOJ news release issued May 9.
Mohamed was indicted in April 2023 after being caught on two separate occasions with thousands of fentanyl pills and a firearm.
“Fentanyl has taken a deadly toll in Whatcom County, just as it has throughout our country. Stopping such drug trafficking is a key priority of the Department of Justice,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller.
Fentanyl, a cheap and addictive synthetic opioid, has been identified as the reason for a sharp rise in overdoses and overdose deaths in Whatcom County in recent years. Although 2024 saw significantly fewer local overdoses and overdose deaths, as programs aimed at prevention, intervention, treatment and follow-up care began showing signs of success.
Mohamed was sentenced for two counts of possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, two counts of unlawful possession of firearms, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
“You were involved in the dangerous combination of drugs and guns. ... Those same drugs that you were dealing you had no idea where they would wind up,” U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones said of Mohamed at Friday’s sentencing hearing. “You put yourself in danger, your children in danger and their mother in danger.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Hobbs wrote in a letter to the court asking Judge Jones to impose a 10-year sentence, “Mohamed was involved in an ongoing conspiracy to distribute fentanyl in Whatcom County. Many of these drugs ended up being distributed … on the Lummi Indian Reservation, a community hard hit by the fentanyl pandemic. The Court is certainly aware of the danger that fentanyl poses to those who use it. Ultimately, Mohamed — for whatever reason — was willing to personally profit from the distribution of an addictive and often deadly controlled substance.”
Other individuals involved in the drug ring — several from Bellingham — have been sentenced, including Daniel Faix, 40, of Bellingham, who received a 10-year prison sentence. Ahbdurman Ahmed, 34, of Seattle, was sentenced to six years in prison. Natasha Parkhill, 38, of Bellingham, was sentenced to four years in prison. Matthew Anderson, 36, of Bellingham, was sentenced to three years in prison.
Robel Sisay Gebremedhin, 42, of Burien, Washington, is still being sought by law enforcement for his alleged involvement.
The investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Whatcom County Drug and Gang Task Force, according to the release, with assistance from the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, Washington State Patrol and the Whatcom County Prosecutor’s Office.
This story was originally published May 9, 2025 at 1:49 PM.
