12-14-2018
KENT, Wash. — Last week hundreds of law enforcement officials took a chunk out of a multi-state drug trafficking ring reaching as far as Skagit County, and now a local group leader is in custody.
The Department of Justice says 22-year-old Carlos Eduardo Lopez-Hernandez of Kent was a high-level manager of the group led by drug cartel members in Mexico.
Dozens were arrested in warrant sweeps last week and over the course of the 18-month investigation officers have seized significant quantities of drugs, firearms and cash.
State troopers were even hospitalized after coming in contact with fentanyl during one of the seizures.
The investigation started after drug seizures by Bremerton officers.