Seattle Police detectives, working in conjunction with Homeland Security Investigations and King County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit, arrested a known drug trafficker and then seized a quantity of narcotics and a handgun from his residence after serving a search warrant. The individual was later booked into the King County Jail.

On December 6th, 2018, SPD Narcotics detectives and HSI agents participated in a joint operation focusing on this particular individual after receiving information that he was trafficking in drugs, specifically counterfeit Xanax pills. Investigators also learned that the individual was in possession of a pill press machine. Further information developed by investigators revealed that the suspect was a prolific drug trafficker in the East Precinct area.

The suspect, a 28-year-old male, was arrested without incident on Thursday. After his arrest, he was interviewed by detectives and admitted that he had a handgun and a large amount of narcotics in his residence. A narcotic search warrant was sought and issued by a Superior Court judge. Investigators served the warrant at the suspect’s residence and recovered the following:

An industrial size pill press machine. This machine is capable of producing 500,000 pills per batch. Pill press machines themselves are not illegal, as long as they are properly registered with the DEA before they are shipped.

11,000 Xanax pills

170 grams of powder cocaine

17 grams of methamphetamine

A number of Ecstasy pills

Close to $1500.00 cash

A 9mm handgun

Body armor

8 pounds of marijuana

Additional prescription medication

This remains an active and on-going investigation.