Federal, state and local law enforcement officials say they've busted another drug trafficking organization that was bringing methamphetamine and cocaine into Washington from Mexico.

The results of the 14-month investigation into the vast drug trafficking network were announced this morning at a press conference.

Officials say they have arrested 31 people, including eight from Pierce County, as part of "Operation Arctic Chill," the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency reported today. Federal drug charges have been filed against 20 of the people arrested. Another three will be charged and arraigned this afternoon.

Investigators say those arrested are part of the Oseguera-Chavez Drug Trafficking Organization.

According to an ICE press release, the leader of the organization is Martin Oseguera-Chavez of Roy. He's believed to be responsible for buying meth and cocaine from dealers in California and Mexico. The drugs were then distributed through other members of the drug trafficking organization.

The drugs were transported along the Interstate 5 corridor in the hidden compartments of vehicles, federal authorities report.

"Members of the DTO sought to conceal their actions, speaking with each other in coded language to describe the drugs, calling crystal methamphetamine 'clothes' or 'blind man' and referring to poor quality drugs as 'stretched' or 'bruised,'" the press release states.

Law enforcement officials have executed more than 35 search warrants over the past two weeks. In Washington, the warrants were served in Carnation, Federal Way, Lynnwood, Olympia, Puyallup, Rainier, Roy, Tacoma, Vancouver and Yelm. Another warrant was executed in Oakdale, Calif., where investigators found an idle meth lab and a pound of meth.

Law enforcement officials also seized more than 19 pounds of meth, a quarter pound of cocaine, $60,000 in cash, 22 vehicles and 23 firearms.

"The success of this joint operation is measured by the fact that we successfully dismantled a criminal drug trafficking organization from the top down," Leigh Winchell, special agent in charge of ICE's Office of Investigations, said in a press release. "ICE will continue to partner with DEA and others to more effectively investigate these organizations - from smuggler to distributor - and bring to bear the complete complement of law enforcement’s authorities on this threat to our communities."

Here's a list of who has been charged, their age and their residence when they there arrested. ICE officials are not commenting on the immigration status of any of the defendants because of the criminal investigation, spokeswoman Lorie Dankers said.

Arrested Tuesday:
Martin Oseguera Chavez, 50, Roy
Maria Oseguera Lopez, 50, Roy
Maria Del Socorro Oseguera Oseguera, 33, Lynnwood
Baldemar Huerta Galvan, 28, Lynnwood
Alberto Rosales Torres, 39, Tacoma
Erika Oseguera Oseguera, 26, Yelm
Rosalinda Oseguera Lopez, 44, Roy
Doug Alfonso, 48, Olympia
Rigoberto Farias Contreras, 46, Carnation
Daniel Camarena, 30, Tacoma,
Miguel Mora Esquivel, 36, Federal Way
Harold Wesley Moreland, 59, Olympia
Gabriela Ludmila Safr, 28, Tacoma
Crescenciano Yanez Bucio, 30, Yelm
Bernardo Salazar Ponce, 28, Roy

Arrested Monday
Juan Pablo Rincon-Lopez, 30, Tacoma

Arrested June 13
Juan Antonio Trejo-Lopez, 30, Elma
Juan Trejo-Lopez, 37, Elma
Gregorio Gomez-Lopez, 34, Mossyrock
Eduardo Martinez, 27, Elma

In addition to ICE and DEA, the following agencies were part of the investigation: Auburn Police Department, Bonney Lake Police Department, Centralia Police Department, Federal Way Police Department, Gray’s Harbor Task Force, Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, Puyallup Police Department, South Snohomish Drug Task Force, Tacoma Police Department, Tahoma Narcotics Enforcement Team, Washington Department of Corrections and Washington State Patrol.

Photo courtesy of the AP

Last year, federal, state and local law enforcement agencies busted another sizable drug cartel that was bringing meth into the state from Mexico. Find my story about that bust below.

[More:]

Huge meth cartel busted
Drugs smuggled from Mexico to South Sound. Law enforcement officials arrest 41 people they say are responsible for bringing large amounts of methamphetamine into the South Sound from Mexico.

By Stacey Mulick; Stacey.mulick@thenewstribune.com

Friday,April 4, 2008

For years, law enforcement officers in the South Sound have run up against members of a tight-knit Mexico-based crime family.

This week, about 300 federal agents and law enforcement officers arrested 22 members of the so-called Barragan Drug Trafficking Organization and executed search warrants in four counties.

In addition, 19 other people associated with the organization face state drug- and weapons-related charges in Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Thurston and Pacific counties.

Authorities say the Barragan organization smuggled about 200 pounds of crystal methamphetamine into the United States each month from the family's hometown in Artega, Mexico.

"We are confident we have dismantled this organization in Washington and the Western United States," U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Sullivan said at a news conference Thursday at U.S. District Court in Tacoma. "I don't think it will be rebuilt any time soon."

Among those arrested in the busts and indicted were two brothers, Ulises Barragan Mendoza of Lacey and Herminio Barragan Mendoza of Olympia, believed to be running the family's operations in Thurston County, and their three cousins, who also are considered key players. The cousins are Jose Barragan Zepeda of Aberdeen, Grays Harbor County; Epifanio Barragan Estrada of Woodland, Cowlitz County; and Fernando Barragan Zepeda of Aberdeen.

The organization controlled the meth distribution network along the Interstate 5 corridor, authorities said.

The Olympia-Lacey region served as the staging area and distribution point for the family, said Arnold Moorin, the Drug Enforcement Administration's special agent in charge in the region.

About half of the meth stayed in Washington state and was sold to addicts, including many in the Tacoma area. The rest of the meth was sent to Wisconsin and Georgia to be sold, authorities said.

Federal agents and local law enforcement officers arrested 22 members of the family during busts Wednesday and Thursday. Most were indicted on federal charges of conspiracy to distribute meth and conspiracy to engage in money laundering.

As part of the arrests, authorities seized 20 pounds of methamphetamine, 41 guns and $100,000 cash, federal prosecutors announced.

Over the years, agents made arrests here and there involving the Barragan family but its operation survived and continued to truck in thousands of pounds of meth into the region, federal authorities said Thursday.

In recent years, the operation filled the meth market with a pure and highly addictive form after homemade labs disappeared because of new laws restricting access to the common chemicals needed to make the drug.

It took a series of court-approved wiretaps and the cooperation of some 30 criminal justice agencies from Auburn to Longview to Missoula, Mont., to infiltrate and dismantle the family, federal authorities said.

"Since 2004, we have sought to dismantle this dangerous drug organization," Sullivan said. "It's going to make all of the communities better and reduce the amount of methamphetamine available."

The family members lived in Olympia, Lacey, Aberdeen, Woodland, Long Beach and Richland. Officials say the family has been active in the illegal drug trade in Western Washington since the late 1980s.

"We have dealt with components of this organization for many years," said Grays Harbor County undersheriff Rick Scott.

Scott, a member of the Grays Harbor County Drug Task Force, bought drugs from the brothers' grandfather in the late 1980s as part of a different investigation.

"A proud legacy has ended," said the DEA's Moorin.

Seven defendants facing federal charges made preliminary court appearances Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma. The other 15 appeared Thursday. Information on court action in the 19 arrested on state charges was unavailable Thursday.

The recent investigation of the crime family stretched 14 months. The family has been hard to infiltrate in years past, federal authorities said, but 17 court-approved wiretaps were used to investigate the tight-knit group.

"We've never had the opportunity to have the resources to infiltrate into this organization," Scott said. "In the past, we've been able to cut off tentacles."

The grand jury returned an initial indictment in the case Feb. 21. Warrants were issued for the suspects' arrest in late March, according to court records.

Moorin said federal agents were working with authorities in Mexico, where a third Barragan Mendoza brother is living. The brother has been found, but it's wasn't clear Thursday whether he's been arrested.

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Stacey Mulick: 253-597-8268

blogs.thenewstribune.com/crime

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SIDEBAR: Drug bust numbers

14 months of investigation

41 arrests

89 pounds of methamphetamine seized

50 guns confiscated

$255,000 in cash seized

17 court-approved wiretaps obtained

300 agents and officers involved in arrests this week

25 federal and state warrants executed

30 federal, state and local law enforcement and criminal justice agencies involved.