EVERETT — A six-month investigation has led detectives to a Snohomish County-based drug ring whose members allegedly bragged about being able to smuggle dozens of pounds of methamphetamine here from Mexico.
Four men were arrested Friday after drug agents seized more than 26 pounds of methamphetamine in Everett.
The drugs were for distribution here and in Seattle, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency.
Federal charges were filed Tuesday against Sebastian Dominquez-Esqueda, 37; Jose Hernandez-Plascencia, 40; Juan Manuel Urzua-Enciso, 34; and Carlos Hugo Zepeda-Aguirre, 32. Each of the men are Mexican nationals who had been living in Everett.
The suspects offered two types of methamphetamine, “blue” and “yellow,” at more than $13,000 per pound. Sometimes the drugs were delivered in shoe boxes, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
The investigation began in December and included drug buys in parking lots outside local restaurants, near a coffee stand, and at homes in Everett and Marysville.
One of the suspects, Hernandez-Plascencia, allegedly claimed he could provide up to 20 pounds of crystal “ice” methamphetamine, “but would need at least 48 hours of advance notice so that he could order the drug from Mexico,” an agent wrote in court papers.
“The arrests of these men and this substantial seizure are equivalent to approximately 2 million user doses of methamphetamine that will not be distributed in our community,” said Mark Thomas, acting special agent in charge at the DEA’s regional office in Seattle.
Urzua-Enciso and Zepeda-Aguirre were arrested Friday after investigators arranged to buy a large quantity of methamphetamine. Detectives seized about 25 pounds of meth when they searched the pickup truck the men drove to the meeting outside an area fast-food restaurant, court papers said.
The agents then served search warrants at apartments in the 7200 block of Highland Drive and the 6000 block of Beverly Lane, in Everett, and arrested Hernandez-Plascencia and Dominquez-Esqueda. More drugs and guns allegedly were found in the apartment.
The four suspects are facing multiple federal drug charges related to the distribution of methamphetamine.
Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452, kyefimova@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
