Martin Manzo Negrete, leader of a Lane County drug trafficking group, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison and five years of supervised release. The investigation started in October 2020 and found that Negrete, a 51-year-old Mexican national living in Oregon illegally with a prior federal prison sentence, was trafficking methamphetamine from California to Lane County. He sold several pounds weekly to local dealers and coordinated the receipt, storage, and distribution of the drugs, as stated by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
On September 13, 2021, Negrete and five others were charged with conspiring to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Two days later, law enforcement executed search warrants and found 384 pounds of methamphetamine in a storage unit, along with 14 firearms, some of which were stolen, and over $76,000 in cash. Manzo Negrete and four associates were arrested during the sweep, and the fifth was arrested later, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Negrete pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge and was sentenced. His co-conspirators also pleaded guilty and received federal sentences for their roles in the trafficking operation. "The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF)," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The investigation involved multiple agencies, including the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and local police. The sentencing is part of efforts to address drug trafficking in Oregon.
