SEATTLE – The leader of a wide-ranging drug distribution network that was uncovered when law enforcement focused on Seattle’s International District and nearby homeless encampments was sentenced to ten years in prison on Wednesday. Octavio Salazar Palma, 34, of Federal Way, Washington was arrested in May 2025 following a lengthy...

SEATTLE- The young leader of a drug trafficking ring that persisted in bringing large loads of drugs to western Washington despite multiple law enforcement seizures, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 130 months in prison, announced First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Hector Duran Aldaco...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – An Anchorage woman was sentenced today to 12 and a half years in prison for trafficking drugs and laundering tens of thousands of dollars in illegal drug proceeds. According to court documents, Mao “Molly” Lee, 37, possessed methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl and cocaine with the intent to distribute...

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Mexican national unlawfully residing in the United States has been indicted after investigators seized over 17.5 pounds of narcotics, firearms, and cash. Baltazar Plata Bringas, 31, has been charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine...

SPOKANE, WASH. — On June 23, 2026, United States District Court Judge Rebecca Pennell sentenced Jessica Demaine, age 39, to 78 months in federal prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release for her role in a trafficking methamphetamine to the IPO Blood criminal street gang operating in...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A former member of the Alaska Bar pleaded guilty on Monday to possessing drugs with intent to distribute in Alaska. On May 21, 2025, Justin Facey, 46, was arrested after a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging him with drug trafficking and firearm crimes. The indictment...

Seattle –A 35-year-old Mexican national who was illegally residing in California was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 15 years in prison for her leadership role of a massive drug distribution ring. Iris Adrianna Amador-Garcia of Bellflower, California, arranged for the distribution of pound quantities of methamphetamine...

SPOKANE, Wash. – On March 3, 2026, the Drug Enforcement Administration executed federal search warrants at multiple locations in the Tri-Cities, Washington area that resulted in the largest seizure of controlled substances in EDWA history. The federal search warrants were based on an ongoing drug trafficking investigation into Amador Sanchez...

SEATTLE – The first of some 20 defendants charged with trafficking narcotics in Seattle’s homeless encampments and International District was sentenced on Wednesday in U.S. District Court to 30 months in prison, announced First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Theodore Nation, 36, has been in custody since January 2025...

SEATTLE –A Tacoma man who continued to distribute large amounts of fentanyl pills even after being found with a large load of methamphetamine was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 66 months in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Rogelio Pena, 22, is one of thirteen...