A major drug-trafficking ring was broken up Thursday with the arrest of 25 people and the seizure of 5 kilograms of methamphetamine, police said.
As many as 150 federal agents and local police raided 11 locations in Snohomish County and one location in King County, according to the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force.
Police seized a half-kilogram of cocaine, 5 kilograms of meth, 2 ounces of heroin, eight guns, a dozen vehicles and $71,000, task force commander Pat Slack said. He called it a substantial bust that will be a “major disruption” in the drug trade in the county.
The investigation, a joint effort by the task force and the Drug Enforcement Administration, has been ongoing since last fall. Detectives made several undercover buys around Snohomish County.
Police believe the meth and other drugs were imported from out of state.
Snohomish County continues to be an established stop on the drug pipeline linking Central and South America, the U.S. and Canada.
Those involved in the bust were major suppliers and were likely selling as much as a pound of drugs every day, police said.
It wasn’t clear Thursday how much money the group was making selling drugs in the county. The case was large enough, however, to be taken to the federal level, Slack said.
Seventeen people were indicted Thursday in U.S. District Court. More arrests are expected, Slack said.
Investigators believe they nabbed the ringleader Thursday. He was found with a large amount of drugs and a handgun.
Agents with Immigration Custom Enforcement, and police from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, Everett, Bothell, Marysville and the Washington State Patrol helped serve the warrants early Thursday.
“There was great cooperation, especially with the DEA and ICE,” Slack said.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
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