United States Drug Enforcement Administration

PORTLAND, Ore.— A Mexican national unlawfully residing in the United States was sentenced to federal prison last week for conspiring to distribute over 20 kilograms of methamphetamine and over 800 grams of fentanyl pills.

Carlos Manuel Perez Lopez, 43, was sentenced to 136 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release.  

“Mr. Perez Lopez put profits ahead of human life by distributing fentanyl and methamphetamine into our communities,” said Robert A. Saccone, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. “DEA and our partners are relentlessly pursuing those responsible, disrupting the supply chain, and bringing traffickers to justice. Every fentanyl seizure represents lives protected. Through Fentanyl Free America, we remain committed to making our communities safer and building a future free from the threat of fentanyl.”

“Bulk narcotics distributors like Carlos Manuel Perez Lopez profiteer from the misery of their customers’ addictions,” said Scott E. Bradford, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. “Multi-agency collaboration and coordination between state and federal authorities are a powerful force multiplier in combatting narcotics traffickers. This investigation is a shining example of how combined federal and state enforcement efforts can thwart drug traffickers’ efforts to poison our community. Drug dealers in Oregon are on notice.” 

According to court documents, in September 2024, a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigation identified Perez Lopez as a large-scale local drug distributor.

On September 13, 2024, after learning Perez Lopez was expecting to receive a drug shipment, investigators followed Perez Lopez to a meeting at a truck stop in Aurora, Oregon, where Perez Lopez met briefly with two men near a blue semi-truck bearing license plates from Mexico and a Texas temporary tag.

Investigators stopped Perez Lopez near Tigard, Oregon. Perez Lopez was the driver and sole occupant of the Camry. Investigators detained Perez Lopez and then searched the car after a drug detecting canine alerted to the presence of narcotics in the car. 

Inside the Camry, investigators seized over 20 kilograms of methamphetamine and 820.4 gross grams of fentanyl pills.

Meanwhile other investigators were following the semi-truck as it traveled northbound on I-5 from the truck stop. Soon after investigators stopped Perez Lopez, the semi-truck left the highway and parked at a public rest stop near Wilsonville, Oregon, barely three miles from the truck stop. The occupants of the semi-truck fled the truck, leaving it running and abandoned at the rest stop. Investigators lawfully searched the cab of the truck where they found and later seized approximately 209.68 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in suitcases. 

On September 14, 2024, Perez Lopez was charged by criminal complaint with possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

On April 1, 2026, Perez Lopez pleaded guilty to a superseding information alleging conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford for the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the DEA, Tigard Police Department, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Sherwood Police Department, and the Westside Interagency Narcotics Team. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul T. Maloney.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Portland comprises agents and officers from FBI, HSI, DEA, USMS, IRS-CI, ATF, USPIS, CBP, TSA, U.S. Coast Guard, Oregon Air, Army National Guard Counterdrug program, and Oregon-Idaho HIDTA with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.