100,000 fentanyl pills, 50 pounds of meth land 2 Tri-Cities drug traffickers in prison

Federal officials say one of the largest seizures of illegal drugs in Eastern Washington history has wrapped up with two dealers sent to prison.

Federal and Tri-Cities law enforcement seized more than 100,000 fentanyl pills, 50 pounds of methamphetmine and a kilo of cocaine on one day in December 2022.

Earlier this month Angel Ramon Barajas-Zarate, 26, was sentenced to 11 years in prison after bringing large quantities of fentanyl and meth into the Tri-Cities by hiding it in microwaves and other new appliances and goods mailed to the Benton City Post Office.

Hector Sanchez-Mendez, 42, was sentenced last week by U.S. Judge Stanley Bastian to six years in prison for operating a drug stash house for Barajas-Zarate on the 1100 block of Wright Avenue in Richland.

Barajas-Zarate is from Colima, Mexico, and had a West Yakitat Road Northwest address in Benton City, and Sanchez-Mendez is from Oaxaca, Mexico.

“Putting a stop to these two men’s crimes may have saved countless lives,” said W. Mike Herrington, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office. “This is an extraordinary amount of dangerous drugs and firearms taken off our streets.”

After a boxed microwave holding 10 pounds of meth was intercepted at the Benton City Post Office in July 2022, searches were done of multiple homes and vehicles in Benton City and Richland in December of that year, according to court documents.

In the attic of the stash house operated by Sanchez-Mendez, investigators found 45 pounds of meth that was being packaged for sale. Investigators also seized 13 firearms around the house, including revolvers, shotguns and rifles.

In Barajas-Zarate’s pickup several large bags of meth and 29,000 fentanyl pills packaged for sale were found, plus more than 500 tablets of xylazine, a powerful veterinary sedative that is sometimes mixed with fentanyl, according to court documents.

Also found on his property were four more guns, including pistols, a rifle and a shotgun.

In total, the FBI and Tri-Cities area law enforcement seized more than 100,000 fentanyl-laced pills, including blue, pink and rainbow-colored pills. The also found 50 pounds of meth and about 1 kilogram of cocaine.

“This case serves as a powerful reminder that those who engage in trafficking dangerous drugs, including fentanyl, will be held accountable for the harm they cause in our communities,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard Barker for Eastern Washington.

Assisting the FBI in the investigation were the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, Richland Police Department, Kennewick Police Department, Pasco Police Department, West Richland Police Department, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, the METRO Drug Task Force, the Washington state Department of Corrections and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Van Marter.