10/28/2022
Seattle – Three significant drug trafficking groups responsible for trafficking more than 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine and hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills are facing federal charges tonight, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.
Two indictments charging a total of eleven defendants were unsealed late yesterday following law enforcement activity in two states. Six additional defendants were indicted and arrested in September.
Despite the arrests tied to a wire-tap investigation, the traffickers named in the most recent indictments continued their trafficking activities.
“These individuals were bringing large loads of meth, heroin, fentanyl and cocaine from Mexico across the border and up I-5 to the Pacific Northwest,” said U.S. Attorney Brown.
“Even when an RV loaded with drugs was pulled off the highway and seized by law enforcement, they weren’t deterred. The wiretap revealed various organizations continued to recruit drivers and vehicles to transport their drugs throughout our District.”
“This operation would be considered a success purely by the volume of illegal drugs taken off the streets” said Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office.
“When we consider a drug trafficking organization was dismantled and the number of illegal firearms recovered through our federal and local partnerships, the positive impact to the Puget Sound region will be immediately felt.”
“The amount of dangerous narcotics seized during this investigation is staggering,” said Jacob D. Galvan, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Seattle Field Division. “Just looking at the fentanyl seized, since four out of 10 fake pills contain a lethal dose, that was enough to kill 132,000 people.
Those named in the indictments unsealed yesterday include:
- Jose Paleo, 29, of La Mirada, California
- Octavio Guzman, 24, of Huntington Park, California
- Glauco Guardado Rodriguez, 25, of Seattle
- Araceli Salas, 30, of Maywood, California
- Maria Rangel Aguilar, 44, of Huntington Park, California
- Miguel Thomas, 33, of Tukwila, Washington
- Tad Fulton, 48, of Seattle
- Ryan Holmquist, 34, of Issaquah, Washington
- Timothy Hursh, 38, of SeaTac, Washington
- Ryan Terry, 44, of Duval, Washington
- Abel Cruz, 32, of Des Moines, Washington
Six defendants were arrested earlier this year on a September 21, 2022, indictment:
- Agustin Gutierrez Valencia, 32, of Kent, Washington
- Daniel Vazquez Arroyo, 32, of Kent, Washington
- Rosalio Reynoso Arellano, 51, of Los Angeles
- Ernesto Casillas, 46, of Los Angeles
- Benigno Hernandez aka Ivan Santos Arellano, 32, of Kent, Washington
- Jesus Toledo Pardo, 56, of SeaTac, Washington
Two additional defendants were arrested on criminal complaints yesterday:
- Luis Valenzuela-Haro, 32, of Seattle
- Michael Kinzel, 37, of Renton, Washington
As for totals from the searches yesterday, law enforcement seized more than two kilos of fentanyl, 4.5 kilos of heroin, ten pounds of methamphetamine and 67 firearms. Also taken by law enforcement: high-capacity rifle magazines, thousands of rounds of ammunition, two sets of body armor, one ballistic shield.
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