A man linked to a large drug ring who was stopped in Centralia with approximately 12 kilograms of methamphetamine, 1.8 kilograms of heroin and 162.4 grams of blue fentanyl pills in February 2020 has been sentenced to nine years in prison, according to the United States Department of Justice.
Juan de Dios Alcaraz-Mardueno was the final defendant in a large drug trafficking ring, according to a Department of Justice news release.
He was sentenced on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 108 months in prison for trafficking drugs while armed with a firearm, U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman said.
Alcaraz-Mardueno was a drug redistributor and interstate transporter of heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine.
At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour remarked on the “dangerous nature of the drugs” the defendant trafficked and that he wasn’t deterred.
“He continued this conduct even after contact with law enforcement,” Coughenour said.
According to records filed in the case, the drug ring distributed large amounts of methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl and cocaine, smuggling the drugs into the U.S. from Mexico and then transporting them up the West Coast for distribution in Pierce, King and Snohomish counties.
A bust on Dec. 16, 2020, resulted in the seizure of 143 pounds of methamphetamine, 15 pounds of heroin, 35,000 fentanyl pills, 24 firearms and $778,000.
Drug ring leader Cesar Valdez-Sanudo, 36, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in January 2023. Valdez-Sanudo had buried large quantities of drugs and cash on his Arlington property.
Alcaraz-Mardueno was identified and indicted as a member of the drug ring, but evaded capture until July 2022. By that time, his voice had been heard on another wiretap investigation, trafficking drugs for a different drug organization.
On Feb. 5, 2020, agents stopped Alcaraz-Mardueno’s vehicle in Centralia.
A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed approximately 12 kilograms of methamphetamine, 1.8 kilograms of heroin and 162.4 grams of blue fentanyl pills. Investigators also found a loaded 9mm handgun in the vehicle. The defendant admitted to possessing the gun to facilitate his drug trafficking as part of his plea agreement. The news release did not state why Alcaraz-Mardueno was not taken into custody after the February 2000 traffic stop.
On Sept. 15, 2023, Alcaraz-Mardueno pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute and carrying a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking crime.
The gun crime is punishable by a mandatory minimum five years in prison consecutive to any other sentence imposed in the case.
The case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation.
“OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks,” the Department of Justice stated in the news release.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Kent Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, the SeaTac Police Department, the Tacoma Police Department, the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force, the Skagit County Sheriff's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Internal Revenue Service.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Amy Jaquette and C. Andrew Colasurdo.
