Feds: Drug traffickers using Honduran nationals to funnel fentanyl into Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A federal task force has made recent strides in tracking down suspected drug dealers allegedly tied to the bulk distribution of fentanyl in the Portland area, court papers show.

First reported by Willamette Week, an affidavit filed by Sherwood Police Department Detective Alexander Salisbury, who is also assigned to the DEA’s “D-51” task force in Portland, states that D-51 task force officers received a search warrant to track the cellphone location of suspected drug dealer Yosel Josue Rodriguez Paz in October. That same month, the task force allegedly purchased 276 grams of fentanyl from Rodriguez and subsequently searched his Milwaukie home on Nov. 7.

The search resulted in the seizure of 446.2 grams of powdered fentanyl, 97.4 grams of blue fentanyl pills, and 121.5 grams of heroin and $6,160 in cash, according to court documents.

The bust was the result of an ongoing investigation into drug trafficking organizations allegedly using Honduran nationals to distribute fentanyl in the Western U.S. cities, including Portland and Seattle.

“Investigators have been investigating a trend of drug trafficking organizations using Honduran nationals to distribute bulk amounts of fentanyl to retail drug customers in several metropolitan areas in the western United States to include Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; Oakland, California; Denver, Colorado; and Salt Lake City, Utah,” the affidavit reads.

Salisbury’s affidavit was filed in December in support of a criminal complaint and an arrest warrant brought against Rodriguez in November. Based on the affidavit, Salisbury recommends that federal prosecutors charge Rodriguez with drug possession and distribution charges that could result in a maximum sentencing of 5 to 40 years in and a fine of up to $5 million.

The D-51 task force filed similar warrants against Beaverton resident Luciano Gabriel Rodriguez-Ortiz in October. A search of Ortiz’s Beaverton apartment and his GMC Yukon resulted in the seizure of $1,050 in cash, 980 grams of cocaine and a Palmetto State Armory 9-millimeter handgun.

The bust was the result of an investigation into a drug trafficking organization that allegedly brings fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine into the U.S. from Mexico, an affidavit filed in support of a criminal complaint filed against Ortiz in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon states.

“This [drug trafficking organization] is suspected of importing controlled substances, including fentanyl pills, heroin, and methamphetamine from Mexico into the United States and conspiring to distribute those drugs in Oregon and Washington,” the affidavit reads. “To date, Investigators have seized [more than] 989.3 grams of blue pills containing fentanyl, 1,035.9 grams of methamphetamine, 42.1 grams of heroin and received approximately $75,000 in U.S. currency believed to be drug proceeds from the [organization].”