A Tacoma resident, Rogelio Pena, 22, was sentenced to 66 months in federal prison for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed large quantities of fentanyl pills and methamphetamine across the Pacific Northwest. The sentencing took place in U.S. District Court in Seattle and was announced by U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd.
Pena was one of thirteen individuals indicted following an 18-month wiretap investigation that uncovered his involvement as both a drug courier and someone with access to the organization’s stash house. During sentencing, U.S. District Judge Kymberly K. Evanson stated, “This was a lot of drugs and a large conspiracy… The impact on the community is significant.”
U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd commented on Pena’s persistence: “Whether riding with 28-pound load of methamphetamine, or attempting to deliver 20,000 fentanyl pills, this defendant did not let intervention by law enforcement stop him. Those who deliver these poisons to our communities face significant time in prison.”
Authorities seized about 81 kilograms of methamphetamine, 49 kilograms of fentanyl pills, and 15 kilograms of cocaine during the operation. Despite being stopped on June 28, 2023 with over 25 pounds of methamphetamine as a passenger in a vehicle pulled over by law enforcement, Pena continued arranging further deliveries—at one point orchestrating the transport of 20,000 fentanyl pills while under surveillance.
The investigation also revealed evolving tactics within the organization; after multiple rental car stops intercepted drug shipments heading northward, conspirators began using buses to bring drugs into Seattle. On April 11, 2024, Portland Police confiscated 7.5 kilograms of fentanyl-laced pills from an abandoned bag at a bus station linked to another member of the group.
Prosecutors highlighted the broader harm caused by these activities: “Pena, along with his co-conspirators, were responsible for flooding these highly dangerous and addictive substances into the community for profit and contributed to the addiction of an unknown number of individuals. The drugs that Pena was peddling caused irreparable harm to the community in general as well as to the families whose members are addicted to controlled substances. During 2023, when Pena was actively engaged in drug trafficking, there was an overwhelming 1,340 fatal overdose deaths in King County alone.”
Robert A. Saccone, Special Agent in Charge at DEA Seattle Field Division said: “This drug trafficking organization flooded the Pacific Northwest with fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine. The fentanyl alone seized in this case contained enough lethal doses to kill more than 200,000 people in Western Washington. The Drug Enforcement Administration is thankful to our Federal, state, and local partners who worked with us tirelessly on this case to help save American lives as we work together to make America Fentanyl Free.”
W. Mike Herrington from FBI Seattle added: “Pena and his co-conspirators were caught trafficking kilogram quantities of illegal drugs into Washington state on multiple occasions in 2023 and 2024… Today’s sentence holds Mr. Pena accountable for his role in this conspiracy that threatened our communities with dangerous drugs and high-powered firearms.”
The investigation formed part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative created under Executive Order 14159 aimed at dismantling criminal cartels and transnational organizations operating within U.S borders through broad interagency cooperation.
Multiple agencies participated in investigating this case including DEA; FBI; Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms & Explosives (ATF); police departments from Seattle; Oregon State Police; Portland Police Department; California Highway Patrol; Los Angeles Strike Force; U.S Customs & Border Protection; Centralia Police Department—with prosecution led by Assistant United States Attorneys Casey Conzatti and Elyne Vaught.
