United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SPOKANE, Wash. – Today United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Erubey Arciga Medrano, age 35, of Michoacan, Mexico, to 180 months in federal prison on drug trafficking charges. Judge Rice also imposed 5 years of supervised release. When he imposed the sentence, Judge Rice noted the large amount of drugs and firearms involved in this case.

According to court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, in January 2023, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) identified Medrano as the leader of a drug trafficking organization flooding portions of the Eastern District of Washington, including the Oroville area and the Colville Indian Reservation, with methamphetamine and fentanyl.

Between January 2023 and March 2023, BIA, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Washington State law enforcement and Colville Tribal law enforcement conducted a series of controlled drug buys from Medrano and others selling drugs on his behalf.

On April 19, 2023, BIA, DEA, the North Central Washington Narcotics Task Force, and other Federal, State, Local, and Tribal law enforcement, executed a series of federal search warrants at a number of homes in rural Okanogan County, near Oroville, Washington. In total, investigators seized approximately 161,000 fentanyl-laced pills (to include Mexi-blues and rainbow-colored pills), approximately 80 pounds of methamphetamine, approximately 6 pounds of heroin, and more than 2 pounds of cocaine. The BIA, DEA, and their partners also seized approximately 12 firearms.

“Drug traffickers like Mr. Medrano profit from the pain they cause selling poison to our neighbors,” said David F. Reames, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Division. “We at the Drug Enforcement Administration, and our partners, work tirelessly to protect our community and this case highlights the lengths we will go to ensure people trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine are held accountable for the suffering they cause.”

“The volume of drugs and firearms seized during this operation is staggering. I am so grateful for the incredible law enforcement team, which came together to conduct this operation and remove these drugs from Eastern Washington communities,” stated Acting United States Attorney Richard Barker. “Because of the joint efforts of federal state, local, and Tribal law enforcement – which were led in this case by the BIA’s Division of Drug Enforcement – Eastern Washington is safer today.  Many of these drugs were destined for Native American communities, including in Eastern Washington and Montana. I am confident that lives were saved as a result of the incredible work that was done in this case.”   

“The impact of this individual and his drug trafficking organization on numerous tribal members, their communities, and surrounding areas - between the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington to the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana - cannot be quantified. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) expresses its gratitude for the robust partnerships with various law enforcement agencies that contributed to the successful conclusion of this investigation,” Deputy Associate Director of the BIA Division of Drug Enforcement, Tom Atkinson, stated. “This achievement exemplifies the BIA's unwavering commitment to dismantling organizations that exploit Indian Country and to safeguarding all residents of our native lands.”

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Division of Drug Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the North Central Washington Narcotics Task Force.  The investigation team was assisted by the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Okanogan County Sheriff, Colville Tribal Police Department, and the Kalispel Tribal Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Acting United States Attorney Richard R. Barker and Assistant United States Attorney Nowles H. Heinrich.

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