Two Kent residents were among the 18 arrested for allegedly distributing cocaine, heroin and meth as part of a violent drug trafficking organization in the greater Seattle metro area.
Federal, state and local law enforcement partners made the arrests and searched more than a dozen locations in connection with a two-year investigation into the drug ring, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office media release on Tuesday. The defendants are scheduled to appear Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
“These defendants preyed on our community by supplying drugs in neighborhoods across Seattle, and demonstrated a willingness to use violence where it served their purposes,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. “Their criminal activities included hiding weapons and using violence in homeless encampments located along Interstate 5.”
The two arrested from Kent are Phuong A. Nguyen, aka (also known as) “P,” 42, and Phuong H. Nguyen, aka “LJ,” 30.
According to the indictment and court records, beginning in February 2013 law enforcement authorities used a variety of tools including telephone wire taps and confidential sources to infiltrate and interdict this drug organization. The investigation determined that the organization distributed approximately 15-20 kilos of cocaine, 10-15 kilos of heroin and 5 kilos of methamphetamine per month.
In addition, on multiple occasions members of the drug trafficking ring were arrested with firearms. In one instance a conspirator was arrested with a stolen firearm as he was leaving the ‘Jungle’ homeless encampment near the International District in Seattle.
During the investigation, law enforcement seized drugs and cash including a September 2014 seizure of two kilograms of cocaine, one pound of methamphetamine and $14,000 cash from a rental car. In March, investigators seized more than $32,000 from a hidden compartment in another vehicle.
Drug activity associated with the organization occurred over a wide geographic area with drug sales occurring at homes and near businesses in Seattle, Renton, Shoreline and Kent.
The drug transactions occurred in areas ranging from the parking lot of Viet Wah supermarket near South Jackson Street in Seattle, the parking lot of Dick’s Drive-In on Northeast 45th Street in Seattle, the parking lot of a gas station on Beacon Hill and at a motel in Tukwila.
“Law enforcement partnerships made (Tuesday’s) operation a success,” said special agent in charge Frank Montoya, Jr., of the FBI’s Seattle division. “Working together in task forces, we tracked these defendants on both sides of Lake Washington, up and down Interstate 5, and even to other states. Our joint resources enabled us to identify key elements of the organization and effectively shut it down.”
“This operation was the result of close cooperation and collaboration between several federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, including investigators from the Eastside Narcotics Task Force and the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force,” said Bellevue Police Chief Steve Mylett. “I am very proud of the hard work of these dedicated law enforcement professionals. As a result of this large scale operation, a well-organized drug trafficking operation has effectively been dismantled, and the entire Puget Sound region is safer.”
Those arrested on the indictment include:
Son V. Tran, 28, of Seattle
Cuong T. Le, 57, of Federal Way
Niem H. Doan, aka “Linh,” 36, of Everett
Huy V. Tran, 39, of Seattle
Patrick Wong, aka “Minh” 48, of Seattle
Son T. Nguyen, aka “Nine Fingers” aka “Kim,” 42, of Seattle
Tam C. Nguyen, aka “Andy,” 39, of Tukwila
Brieanna K. Carlson, 27, of Seattle
Yen T. Vu, 54, of Seattle
Phuong A. Nguyen, aka “P,” 42, of Kent
Vinh Q. Nguyen, 29, of Seattle
Giang T. Ngo, aka “Uncle Jack,” 51, of Burien
Phuong H. Nguyen, aka “LJ,” 30, of Kent
Kenneth W. Thomas, 55, of SeaTac
Donald K. Jordan, aka “Looney,” 34, of Seattle
Donald C. Scholoff, 47, of Edmonds
Steven J. Connell, 47, of Seattle
Kimberle S. Alojasin, aka “Nguyen,” 56, of South King County
This was an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation, providing supplemental federal funding to the federal and state agencies involved.
The FBI’s Seattle Safe Streets Task Force (SSTF) and Bellevue Police Department’s Eastside Narcotics Task Force (ENTF) led the investigation. The SSTF includes task force officers from the Seattle Police Department, and the ENTF is composed of Bellevue Police officers, and agents and officers from the Washington State Patrol, US Postal Inspection Service, and the Redmond, Kirkland, and Mercer Island police departments in partnership with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), King County Sheriff’s Office, the Washington State Department of Corrections, and the Kent and Tukwila police departments, and the Seattle Fire Department also assisted with the case.
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