A 25-year-old Federal Way man is headed to federal prison for nearly 11 years after prosecutors said he helped move massive quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine into Western Washington while keeping firearms close to the operation. The case stretched from Southern California to Seattle and included repeated drug seizures, a storage unit and more than a dozen alleged co-conspirators.
DEA Seattle’s post on X
Federal Way Leader Sentenced After Multi-State Pipeline
Hector Duran Aldaco, also known as Jay Thrax, was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 130 months in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Western Washington. He pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and using a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
Federal prosecutors said Aldaco was responsible for attempting to distribute 85 kilograms of methamphetamine, 30 kilograms of fentanyl and 2.5 kilograms of cocaine. At Monday’s hearing, U.S. District Judge Kymberly K. Evanson described the amount as “a staggering quantity of controlled substances,” while investigators said the organization used rental cars and, after several traffic stops, intercity buses to move drugs north.
Seizures Reached From California To Portland
The case became public in May 2024, when the Justice Department announced that 13 people had been indicted or arrested in a conspiracy involving fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine and alprazolam. Authorities said the broader investigation had already produced seizures of 59 kilograms of fentanyl pills, 81 kilograms of methamphetamine, 21 kilograms of cocaine and 11 firearms…