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TACOMA, Wash. - A Tacoma man was sentenced Thursday to 66 months in federal prison for his role in a large drug trafficking conspiracy that moved fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine through the Pacific Northwest, federal prosecutors said.
Rogelio Pena, 22, continued distributing fentanyl even after authorities stopped a vehicle he was riding in that contained more than 25 pounds of methamphetamine, according to court records.
Pena was one of 13 people indicted in May 2024 following an 18-month wiretap investigation that identified him as a trusted member of the organization. Investigators said Pena delivered drugs for the group and had access to its stash house, including possession of keys to the storage area.
U.S. District Judge Kymberly K. Evanson said at sentencing that the case involved a large amount of drugs and a significant impact on the community.
Drugs seized from Tacoma man by police
By the numbers:
Wiretap evidence showed that after the Jun. 28, 2023, traffic stop, Pena arranged the delivery of 20,000 fentanyl pills, prosecutors said.
During the investigation, law enforcement seized about 81 kilograms of methamphetamine, 49 kilograms of fentanyl pills and 15 kilograms of cocaine.
As authorities began intercepting rental vehicles carrying drugs north, the conspiracy shifted to transporting narcotics by bus into the Seattle area, prosecutors said. On Apr. 11, 2024, Portland police seized 7.5 kilograms of fentanyl-laced pills from a bag abandoned at a bus station by one of the co-conspirators.
Arrests followed in early May.
Prosecutors said the organization flooded the region with highly addictive drugs for profit. Court filings cited 1,340 fatal overdose deaths in King County in 2023, when Pena was actively trafficking drugs.
What they're saying:
"This drug trafficking organization flooded the Pacific Northwest with fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine," said Robert A. Saccone, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. "The fentanyl alone seized in this case contained enough lethal doses to kill more than 200,000 people in Western Washington."
Multiple federal, state and local agencies participated in the investigation, which was led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.
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