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Posted on: March 24, 2023, 09:08h.
Final up to date on: March 24, 2023, 02:18h.
Two members of a violent drug trafficking ring have been despatched to jail this week by a federal decide. The duo is accused of laundering greater than $1 million of meth, heroin, and fentanyl earnings by way of Washington State casinos.
In a US District Court docket in Seattle, Jose Arrondondo-Valdez, 27, aka “Primo,” acquired a nine-year sentence on drug trafficking fees. Yvette Olguin, 40, was given 30 months in jail for cash laundering conspiracy.
Arrondondo-Valdez and Olguin are, respectively, the cousin and partner of the alleged ringleader of the group, Cesar Valdez-Sanudo. He was sentenced to fifteen years in January for conspiracy to distribute managed substances, conspiracy to commit cash laundering, and carrying a firearm in reference to a drug trafficking crime.
Arrondondo-Valdez was Valdez-Sanudo’s right-hand man, in accordance with prosecutors. The pair have been arrested collectively on the Snoqualmie On line casino, east of Seattle, the place they deliberate to confront a gang member who owed a drug debt. Investigators discovered three loaded weapons, one outfitted with a selfmade silencer, inside their car.
Courier Intercepted
In all, 11 members have been indicted in December 2020 following a prolonged DEA wiretap investigation.
Investigators seized massive portions of medicine transported to Washington from Mexico through California in packing containers disguised as home items. This included 143 kilos of methamphetamine, 15 kilos of heroin, and 35K fentanyl drugs, in accordance with prosecutors.
The primary group member to be detained was a courier named Fausto Paz. He had been on account of convey a cargo of meth to a compound the place Valdez-Sanudo lived with Olguin in Arlington, however federal brokers intercepted Wash. Paz as he crossed the Oregon-Washington border.
When the courier didn’t present, Valdez-Sanudo believed he had stolen the medication and ordered him to be tortured, in accordance with wiretap proof.
When police searched Valdez-Sanudo’s compound, they discovered an enormous haul of medicine buried underground. In addition they seized 10 firearms on the property.
Olguin Performed ‘Key Position’
Prosecutors mentioned Olguin was key to the operation of the drug trafficking group by making resort and journey preparations, in addition to working to launder money by way of casinos and buying properties and high-end autos.
With at present’s sentences, Mr. Arrondondo-Valdez and Ms. Olguin will spend vital quantities of time in federal custody on account of their roles on this drug trafficking group,” mentioned Jacob D. Galvan, Performing Particular Agent in Cost, DEA Seattle Discipline Division.
Different group members already convicted embrace Wayne Frisby, aka “Mac Wayne,” a legally blind rapper profiled in an Amazon Prime documentary. He acquired six years in jail in August 2022 after pleading responsible to conspiracy to distribute managed substances.
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