An FBI-led wiretap exposed an alleged fentanyl route from Phoenix to Tacoma

Sixteen people, including some with ties to a Tacoma street gang, have been charged and/or arrested following an 18-month investigation into a multi-state drug-trafficking ring in which couriers allegedly brought fentanyl into Washington through checked luggage, authorities announced Thursday.

During a news conference held at Tacoma Police Department headquarters, federal and local law enforcement officials described what Tacoma Police Chief Patti Jackson called “an incredibly successful operation” led by the FBI and assisted by several other agencies, including TPD and the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.

In the preceding 36 hours, authorities executed 13 search warrants as part of the large-scale takedown that primarily targeted known members or associates of the Knoccout Crips street gang, a transnational criminal group which has been tied to drug trafficking and violence in Tacoma, according to officials.

“Their activities extended beyond Tacoma, impacting communities across the region and even into other states,” Jackson said.

Authorities allege that individuals linked to the gang had been sending couriers to a fentanyl source in Phoenix to collect huge quantities of the drug for redistribution in Washington. Fentanyl pills and powder were seized from checked luggage at Sea-Tac Airport during the investigation, according to Teal Luthy Miller, the acting U.S. Attorney in the Western District of Washington.

A two-month wiretap led by the FBI “revealed the far-reaching scope of the conspiracy, with drug mules attempting to transport fentanyl from Arizona to Tacoma and in at least one instance on to Baltimore,” Miller said in a statement Thursday.

The fentanyl-trafficking investigation was part of the FBI initiative Summer Heat, which targets violent crime during the summer months. It netted a 10-count indictment last week of nine people, eight of whom were arrested Wednesday, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Seven others allegedly connected to the conspiracy were also arrested.

The probe was prompted by a string of homicides and other violent acts attributed to the Knoccout Crips, according to Thomas M. Woods, deputy criminal chief with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Washington.

It was a coordinated effort between authorities “to dismantle a violent drug organization that sold and moved thousands of fentanyl pills at any given time – drugs that were destined for the streets of Tacoma and for the surrounding region,” Woods said during the news conference.

“And let it be clear, today is not the end,” he added. “It is a continuation of the fight to make our streets and our communities safer.”

Authorities seized nearly 2,700 grams of fentanyl in the past 36 hours as well as other drugs, roughly $111,000 in cash and 23 firearms, according to the Department of Justice.

W. Mike Herrington, special agent in charge of the FBI in Seattle, told reporters that the Phoenix-based drug supplier had Mexican cartel ties and that the investigation was ongoing into the transportation of drugs to other places in the U.S.

“This case shows the power of standing together,” Jackson said. “It sends a very clear message: criminal activity will not take hold in our communities.”