Two-state drug ring leader sentenced to 20 years

SEATTLE – The leader of a major drug ring based in Seattle and Rexburg, Idaho, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

U.S. District Judge James L. Robert said Tuesday in Seattle the size of the operation and 21-year-old Jose Barraza-Vidal’s role justified the long term. Federal investigators say he was in the country illegally, and after his release he faces deportation to Mexico.

Barraza-Vidal pleaded guilty earlier to trafficking and conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine.

He was among more than two dozen people who were arrested in Idaho and Washington in September. Authorities also seized 110 pounds of cocaine, 16 pounds of meth, about $940,000 in cash and numerous cars and boats.