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...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A Fairbanks woman was sentenced to 21 years in prison on Wednesday for her role in distributing fentanyl that resulted in the overdose death of local man in 2022. According to court documents, from May to July 2022, Samantha Pearson, 39, and Edward Ginnis, 40, of Fairbanks...

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...

TACOMA – A 44-year-old Puyallup resident was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma for his role as a significant distributor of narcotics for a Drug Trafficking Organization tied to white prison gangs, announced First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. In February 2026, Daniel Hammond was convicted at...

SEATTLE – A 65-year-old national of the Dominican Republic, who was arrested in Colombia and extradited to the U.S., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 96 months in prison for conspiracy to import cocaine and conspiracy to launder money, announced First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil...

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...

SEATTLE, WA – The DEA Seattle Field Division partnered with FBI Seattle, ATF Seattle Field Division, the Seattle Police Department, and the King County Sheriff's Office for Operation Red Card. Through this multi-agency coordinated effort from May until July 2026, the Sound Regional Violent Crime Task Force has identified, located...

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. — First Assistant United States Attorney Pete Serrano announced that on May 20, 2026, United States District Court Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Robert Joseph McNabb, age 35, to 180 months in federal prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to trafficking...

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...