A Tacoma man has been sentenced to five and a half years in federal prison for his role in a large-scale drug trafficking operation that distributed tens of thousands of fentanyl-laced pills across western Washington, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Prosecutors said 22-year-old Rogelio Pena played a trusted role within a drug trafficking network dismantled through an 18-month wiretap investigation. The operation—spanning multiple jurisdictions from Tacoma to Portland—resulted in 13 indictments and significant drug seizures, including 81 kilograms of methamphetamine, 49 kilograms of fentanyl pills, and 15 kilograms of cocaine.

According to court documents, Pena was first caught in June 2023 while riding in a vehicle that law enforcement found carrying over 25 pounds of methamphetamine. Despite the interception, subsequent surveillance and wiretap evidence revealed he continued coordinating deliveries of around 20,000 fentanyl pills. He reportedly held keys to a storage area used by the group to safeguard its narcotics before distribution.

Federal investigators tracked the organization’s evolving tactics as law enforcement pressure intensified. After multiple vehicle seizures, conspirators allegedly shifted to moving drugs north via bus. In April 2024, Portland police seized more than 7 kilograms of fentanyl-laced pills abandoned at a bus station. Arrests followed a month later.

In recommending a 66-month sentence, prosecutors described Pena and his co-conspirators as instrumental in flooding local communities with addictive substances. The letter to the court cited the scale of Washington’s ongoing overdose crisis, noting that King County recorded 1,340 fatal overdoses in 2023—the year Pena was actively trafficking.

DEA officials said the seized fentanyl alone contained enough lethal doses to kill more than 200,000 people. U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd condemned Pena’s continued involvement after earlier law enforcement intervention, stating that those delivering “these poisons to our communities face significant time in prison.”

Pena is among more than a dozen defendants facing federal charges connected to the multi-agency investigation, which continues to target fentanyl networks operating throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice (press release); MyNorthwest.