Drug trafficking ring busted, 6 arrested

Story Published: Apr 9, 2007 at 1:38 PM PDT
By KOMO Staff

A heroine and cocaine distribution ring has been busted and six people were arrested following a nine-month wiretap investigation in King and Snohomish Counties. Police also seized $260,000 in cash and multiple pounds of heroine and cocaine on Monday morning.

Investigators say the organization was smuggling in heroine and cocaine from Mexico and distributing it in the two countries.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force used a confidential informant and court-authorized wire taps of the lead defendant's telephone as a part of the probe.

The case name for the operation came to be know as "Los Intocables" or "The Untouchables" after the ring leader told the informant that he was "untouchable" by law enforcement.

The accused ring leader, Javier Sanchez-Vasquez, was recently enrolled at the University of Washington's Bothell campus. He was one of six arrested on Monday morning. Also arrested were Gabriel Castro of Des Moines, Jose Vasquez-Contreras of Bothell, Macrino Acevedo-Cuevas of Shoreline and Rodolfo Navarro-Gomez of Sumner.

Search warrants were served at several addresses in the two counties. Authorities seized 23 pounds of heroin, 33 pounds of cocaine and approximately $260,000 in cash.

"Today we have dismantled a drug trafficking cell which brought significant amounts of cocaine and heroin from Mexico into Washington State and Snohomish County," said DEA Special Agent in Charge Rodney Benson.

The six defendants are expected to make their first court appearance on Monday afternoon.


http://www.komotv.com/news/6940387.html