SEATTLE, WA — A Tacoma man was sentenced to 66 months in federal prison for his role in a drug trafficking organization that moved large quantities of narcotics into Western Washington, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.
Rogelio Pena, 22, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle after investigators found he continued to distribute fentanyl pills even after being stopped with a significant amount of methamphetamine. Court records state that Pena was a trusted member of a broader conspiracy that transported drugs north from Los Angeles, initially using rental cars and later commercial buses.
Investigators said the multi-agency wiretap investigation resulted in the seizure of approximately 81 kilograms of methamphetamine, 49 kilograms of fentanyl pills, and 15 kilograms of cocaine. In one traffic stop on June 28, 2023, Pena was a passenger in a vehicle carrying more than 25 pounds of methamphetamine. Despite that stop, authorities said Pena later arranged deliveries involving 20,000 fentanyl pills.
Federal prosecutors said the fentanyl seized in the case contained enough lethal doses to kill more than 200,000 people. In April 2024, law enforcement also seized 7.5 kilograms of fentanyl-laced pills that had been abandoned at a bus station by a co-conspirator, according to court documents.
Pena was one of thirteen defendants indicted in the case in May 2024. Investigators said he had access to keys for a storage location used by the organization and helped manage drug distribution logistics. The investigation involved the Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, and several state and local agencies across the Pacific Northwest and California.
At sentencing, the court cited the scale of the operation and its impact on the community. Prosecutors noted that during the period of the conspiracy, King County recorded 1,340 fatal overdose deaths in 2023, underscoring the broader public safety concerns tied to large-scale drug trafficking cases.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington as part of a multi-agency effort targeting transnational drug trafficking organizations.
