13 people connected to 3 drug rings arrested, 11 indicted in Seattle

Seattle

SEATTLE Wash. (KPTV) – Thirteen people connected to three drug trafficking groups were arrested in Washington and California and 11 indicted for federal drug charges, US Attorney Nick Brown announced on Wednesday.

The US Attorney’s office in Seattle said the three groups were reasonable for trafficking more than 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine and hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills.

These arrests followed six arrests in September.

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Police said they seized more than two kilos of fentanyl, four kilos of heroin, 10 pounds of methamphetamine and 67 firearms with high-capacity rifle magazines, thousands of rounds of ammunition, two sets of body armor and one ballistic shield.(US Attorney’s Office)

“These individuals were bringing large loads of meth, heroin, fentanyl and cocaine from Mexico across the border and up I-5 to the Pacific Northwest,” Brown said. “Even when an RV loaded with drugs was pulled off the highway and seized by law enforcement, they weren’t deterred. The wiretap revealed various organizations continued to recruit drivers and vehicles to transport their drugs throughout our District.”

SEE ALSO: Police seize enough fentanyl to kill more than 4 million people from driver in Eugene

The suspects arrested and indicted are:

Jose Paleo, 29, of La Mirada, Calif.
Octavio Guzman, 24, of Huntington Park, Calif.
Glauco Guardado Rodriguez, 25, of Seattle
Araceli Salas, 30, of Maywood, Calif.
Maria Rangel Aguilar, 44, of Huntington Park, Calif.
Miguel Thomas, 33, of Tukwila, Wash.
Tad Fulton, 48, of Seattle
Ryan Holmquist, 34, of Issaquah, Wash.
Timothy Hursh, 38, of SeaTac, Wash.
Ryan Terry, 44, of Duval, Wash.
Abel Cruz, 32, of Des Moines, Wash.

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Police said additional suspects were arrested on criminal complaints Tuesday:

Luis Valenzuela-Haro, 32, of Seattle
Michael Kinzel, 37, of Renton, Wash.

Also on Tuesday, police said they seized more than two kilos of fentanyl, four kilos of heroin, 10 pounds of methamphetamine and 67 firearms with high-capacity rifle magazines, thousands of rounds of ammunition, two sets of body armor and one ballistic shield.