The final defendant of 41 arrested in an extensive drug trafficking investigation pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court in Seattle to possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute and unlawfully possessing a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman.
Kendle Rashen Hawkins, 34, of Goodyear, Arizona, will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez on Nov. 8, according to a news release from the United States Department of Justice.
Because of the quantity of drugs involved, Hawkins faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, according to the news release.
According to records filed in the case, Hawkins was identified as a participant in the drug trafficking ring who brought large quantities of controlled substances — which he concealed in compartments in rental vehicles — from Phoenix to Seattle.
Law enforcement officials obtained a search warrant to track his cellphone and saw the phone traveling from Phoenix to Sacramento and then up Interstate 5 toward Seattle. Using the location data, investigators were able to locate Hawkins as he came into Washington state as a passenger in a car he rented.
Agents stopped the car for speeding in Lewis County.
After a drug detection dog alerted to the presence of drugs in the car, agents obtained a warrant to search it. Inside the vehicle, they found about 50,000 fentanyl pills weighing more than 4.8 kilograms, five firearms, two silencers and a high-capacity drum magazine. Each of the firearms was purchased in Arizona within the previous two weeks by a man later prosecuted in Arizona for dealing firearms without a license.
Hawkins’ arrest came midway through a larger investigation into drug trafficking in the Seattle region, according to the news release. This joint investigation by the FBI and the Seattle Police Department resulted in charges against 41 individuals, most of whom were arrested in a takedown in April 2021 or another in June 2021.
In more than two years of the investigation, law enforcement have seized 121 firearms, including stolen firearms and ghost guns; more than 16 kilograms of cocaine; more than 5.5 kilograms of fentanyl; nearly 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine; and smaller quantities of heroin, MDMA, oxycodone and other pills.
Investigators also seized hundreds of marijuana plants from an illegal grow operation and hundreds of kilograms of marijuana that were being illegally processed and distributed.
In addition to the drugs, investigators seized nearly $1 million in cash that was proceeds from drug trafficking, a pill press used for manufacturing counterfeit pills, dozens of firearm magazines, innumerable rounds of ammunition and six sets of body armor, according to a news release.
The sentences for those indicted in this case range from time served to more than eight years in prison.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The investigation was led by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force with key participation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Seattle Police Gang and Narcotics Units, Homeland Security Investigations, and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Erin H. Becker and Lyndsie Schmalz.
