EVERETT — Federal agents raided a Silver Lake-area home last week, looking for evidence that people were trafficking in cocaine and heroin.
They arrested Irvin J. Moreno, 27, for investigation of conspiracy to distribute drugs. He allegedly was supplying other drug dealers in Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties. The Drug Enforcement Administration started looking at him in the fall.
Moreno has felony gun and drug convictions, and he spent time in federal prison in recent years. He remains at a federal detention center awaiting hearings on the new allegations.
The DEA was working with a confidential informant who allegedly bought drugs from one of Moreno’s clients, court papers show.
Agents trailed the source’s dealer to the Bothell and Everett areas, where they observed him meeting with someone in a black Lexus sedan with an after-market silver grill and distinct black rims.
Investigators started following the Lexus in October, but they had not yet identified the driver. The car was registered to Moreno’s relatives, who live near Silver Lake.
The agents started looking through the other dealer’s Facebook friends.
They saw a profile picture of a black Lexus with distinctive rims. It was Moreno’s page. It turned out he had been driving the car during his federal gun case in Arlington in 2011.
The other dealer under surveillance also was arrested. His name was not disclosed by law enforcement. He reportedly had purchased 15 ounces of cocaine and two ounces of heroin from Moreno. An ounce of the heroin cost $1,150.
The raid happened March 23, and the DEA reportedly found two vaccuum-sealed bags of cash and 10 ounces of cocaine in Moreno’s home. Some of it was hidden in a backpack in a crawlspace.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
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