Drug dealer active in Snohomish County pleads guilty
Published 1:46 pm Friday, January 25, 2008
SEATTLE – The leader of a drug smuggling ring that had been active in Snohomish County pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges today in federal court.
Javier Sanchez-Vasquez, also known as “Cookie,” ran a drug ring out of his Kirkland house while he was enrolled in classes at Cascadia Community College in Bothell. Detectives with the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration arrested Sanchez-Vasquez in April after a nine-month investigation.
They used wiretaps to listen in on his phone conversations and also deployed confidential sources to make drug buys.
Investigators found 56 pounds of cocaine and heroin and seized more than $1.2 million. A majority of the money was discovered inside secret compartments built into cars owned by the group. Investigators believe the ring was smuggling drugs from Mexico and distributing them in Snohomish and King counties.
Sanchez-Vasquez, 28, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and heroin. He faces up to 16 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced April 18.
