Two members of a transnational drug trafficking operation responsible for bringing large quantities of fentanyl into Western Washington from Mexico will spend several years in federal prison for bringing roughly 75,000 fentanyl pills to Whatcom County.
On March 15, U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez in Seattle sentenced Juan Manuel Lugo Enriquez, 21, of Mexico, to three years and two months in federal prison. The judge also sentenced Guillermo Vieyra Salas, 24, of Mexico, to four years in federal prison the same day, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Judge Martinez "found troubling the large amount of fentanyl at issue here," according to the DOJ release, and noted during sentencing the rise in overdose deaths across the U.S.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) received a tip that a Seattle-based member of a drug trafficking organization was bringing bulk quantities of fentanyl pills into western Washington from Mexico. The member was later identified as Lugo Enriquez, according to the DOJ press release.
An undercover HSI agent posing as an international drug trafficker got in touch with Lugo Enriquez and set up a drug deal for 2,000 pills at a price of $4,000, according to federal court records.
On Aug. 30, 2022, two undercover HSI agents purchased approximately 2,000 fentanyl pills for $4,000 from Lugo Enriquez. During the drug deal, Lugo Enriquez offered to sell the undercover agents an additional 200,000 fentanyl pills that Lugo Enriquez expected to acquire in the coming days, the court documents state.
The pills were later taken to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection lab, where they tested positive for fentanyl and weighed in at a little more than 218 grams.
On Sept. 1, 2022, Lugo Enriquez called the undercover HSI agent and the two negotiated a deal for Lugo Enriquez to sell 75,000 fentanyl pills to the undercover agent for $112,500. The deal was expected to take place Sept. 28, 2022, and it was determined that Lugo Enriquez's associate, later identified as Jaime Alonso Hernandez-Hernandez, would deliver the pills to a second undercover agent, posing as the first undercover agent's associate, the court documents state.
The second undercover agent and Hernandez-Hernandez met near the Bellingham International Airport around noon on Sept. 28, 2022, where Hernandez-Hernandez provided approximately 76,000 fentanyl pills in a duffel bag to the undercover agent.
Hernandez-Hernandez was then arrested.
The pills Hernandez-Hernandez provided tested positive for fentanyl and weighed roughly 8.34 kilograms, court documents state.
While the drug deal with Hernandez-Hernandez was taking place, the first undercover agent was meeting with Lugo Enriquez and Vieyra Salas at a coffee shop near the Bellingham airport to exchange the money for the pills, according to federal court records.
Vieyra Salas was later identified through phone, photographic and voice records as the person who accompanied Lugo Enriquez to the drug deal with the undercover agent, and was arrested Oct. 19, 2022, court documents state.
Lugo Enriquez was also arrested in late October 2022 in Wilmington, N.C.
Hernandez-Hernandez, 41, is expected to be sentenced in federal court for his role in the drug trafficking operations on June 7, according to the DOJ press release.
"Federal law enforcement is keenly focused on getting as much fentanyl as possible off our streets. Seizing more than 75,000 pills will save lives," U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman said in a prepared statement in the DOJ release.
Drive-by shooting case
At the time of his drug-trafficking arrest, Vieyra Salas was already on local law enforcement's radar following his involved in a suspected drive-by shooting in August 2021.
Less than two weeks after he pleaded guilty in Whatcom County Superior Court to third-degree assault for shooting himself in the leg July 16, 2018 with a gun he had found earlier that day at a convenience store, Vieyra-Salas was arrested for allegedly firing roughly 30 rounds from a rifle in a drive-by shooting in the Birchwood neighborhood.
The 911 dispatch center received roughly 70 calls reporting gunshots fired shortly after 2:15 a.m. on Aug. 15, 2021 in the 2700 block of West Maplewood Avenue, The Herald previously reported. Officers in the area also heard gunshots.
Approximately 27 .300 Blackout shell casings from a rifle were found by officers along West Maplewood Avenue. A witness also told officers a white SUV had been involved in the drive-by shooting.
Officers found a newer, white Dodge Durango at a nearby apartment complex and saw Vieyra-Salas getting out of the front passenger side of the vehicle. Officers spoke with Vieyra Salas, who said he had not been driving and was getting cigarettes out of the vehicle.
Officers found the car's engine was still warm and saw a pistol and .300 Blackout rounds sticking out of the center console after looking through the windows of the Durango. Officers also saw spent .300 Blackout shell casings between the passenger seat and the door.
While officers were in the process of seizing the Durango, Vieyra Salas came outside with the Durango's keys in hand. Officers also found 25 grams of cocaine on Vieyra Salas at the time of his arrest, The Herald previously reported.
A search of the SUV revealed a Noveske short-barreled rifle with a .300 Blackout round chambered, which had been reported stolen from a garage Aug. 9, 2021 in Sedro-Woolley.
Also found in the Durango was a Smith and Wesson pistol, a "multitude" of .300 Blackout ammunition, a spent .300 Blackout shell casing, three 45-round magazines loaded with .300 Blackout ammunition, three 30-round magazines loaded with .300 Blackout ammunition and Vieyra Salas' recent sentencing paperwork from Whatcom County Superior Court for his third-degree assault conviction.
As part of his conviction, Vieyra Salas is prohibited from possessing firearms, court documents show.
Vieyra Salas was charged Aug. 23, 2021 in Whatcom County Superior Court with one count of drive-by shooting, one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and one count of possession of a stolen firearm, in relation to the Birchwood neighborhood drive-by shooting incident.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges Sept. 3, 2021. The case is still pending, court records show.
