Twelve people were indicted Wednesday in a drug-trafficking operation, two of whom are from Pierce County.
Seattle police, along with federal agents, served search warrants across the region in the early-morning hours. While serving a warrant in Puyallup, an officer shot and injured one of the suspects.
Details about what prompted the shooting have not been released.
On Wednesday, law enforcement officers confiscated 48 guns, two kilograms of cocaine, two pounds of methamphetamine, several thousands fentanyl pills and $120,000 in cash. They also discovered two illegal marijuana grows, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
"Not only are these dozens of suspects off the streets, but so are dangerous narcotics, including fentanyl tablets and the tools to manufacture them," Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz said in a news release. "Our communities have been devastated by a recent rise in fentanyl deaths and continue to be devastated by ongoing gun violence."
Among those indicted were David William Armer, 41, of Spanaway; Brett David Radcliff, 21, of Puyallup; Rafael Ramirez, 49, of Pacific; Cesar Arambula, 39, of Kent; and Cresencio Moreno Aguirre, 41, of Kent. The others are from Seattle, Renton, Burien, Redmond and Issaquah.
This group of people indicted follow a first round of arrests and indictments from April 7, when 24 people were taken into custody.
"Even after the arrest of 24 defendants in April, law enforcement pursued the higher-level sources of the drugs that were distributed in our community," U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman said in a written statement. "I am pleased that prosecutors in our office and law enforcement officers continued to work up the chain of this trafficking organization making large drug seizures and taking guns off the street."
During the course of the two-year investigation, law enforcement officers have seized 84 guns, 16 kilos of cocaine, 50,000 fetanyl pills and more than $1 million cash, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. That doesn't include Wednesday's numbers.
