A Puyallup man who prosecutors say turned a storage unit into a mail-order pill hub for the dark web is headed to federal prison for three and a half years. Investigators say he mailed more than 100,000 fentanyl-laced pills and ran the operation out of a Puyallup storage locker that doubled as a packing center, a scheme that first came to light when law enforcement ordered counterfeit M30 oxycodone pills for testing.
Federal case details from plea statements
According to a U.S. Department of Justice news release, 34-year-old Trevor Stephen Haahr pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and to possession with intent to distribute. His co-defendant, 35-year-old Kaeli Arielle Albert of Orting, pleaded guilty to conspiracy.
Prosecutors say agents intercepted a package in February 2024 that contained more than 10,000 pills and then executed search warrants on March 11, 2024, at Haahr's home, office, storage locker, and vehicle. They seized pills, shipping materials, and what they described as drug proceeds. The Justice Department says investigators also recovered and forfeited bitcoin valued at roughly $50,000, and that the defendants admitted distributing more than 100,000 fentanyl-laced pills. The release details the charges and lists the law-enforcement partners involved in the case.
More information on the pleas and investigation is available in the U.S. Department of Justice release.
Sentence, prosecutors' request and FBI response
U.S. District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright sentenced Haahr to 42 months in federal prison. Federal prosecutors had asked for roughly a five-year term and pointed to a rise in local fentanyl overdoses during the period when the pill operation was active.
According to local coverage, FBI Seattle officials said the counterfeit pills were pushed into communities as if they were legitimate medications and warned that the bureau and its partners will keep targeting dark-web drug traffickers who ship into Washington neighborhoods.
Read the local court and sentencing coverage at The News Tribune.
How investigators say the operation worked
Investigators trace the case back to 2023, when orders placed on a dark-web marketplace for pills advertised as M30 oxycodone were sent for testing. Lab results showed the tablets actually contained fentanyl.
Surveillance and court filings say Haahr was logged in to a vendor profile from his office, used a Puyallup storage unit as a parcel-packing center, and met repeatedly with Albert to swap cash and drugs. Those details were laid out in plea documents and summarized in local reporting.
Earlier coverage of the investigation and pleas can be found at KIRO 7 / MyNorthwest.
Counterfeit M30 pills and the overdose risk
Federal and local agencies have repeatedly warned that blue pills stamped to look like oxycodone "M30" are often counterfeit and can contain fentanyl or carfentanil, a much more potent opioid that can sometimes require multiple doses of naloxone to reverse an overdose. After a large seizure of counterfeit M30 pills containing carfentanil, the Drug Enforcement Administration's Seattle Field Division issued a public alert stressing just how dangerous pressed street tablets can be.
For the warning on counterfeit M30 pills, see the DEA Seattle release. Local overdose trends are detailed in the 2024 overdose fatality review from King County.
Charges, penalties and what comes next
Under federal law, a conspiracy to distribute drugs at this level can carry a maximum sentence of 40 years, and possession with intent to distribute can carry up to 20 years. In this case, prosecutors told the court they would recommend sentences at the low end of the applicable guideline range.
The investigation included the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the FBI, and Homeland Security Investigations, and the case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Wynne and Casey Conzatti, according to filings summarized in the U.S. Department of Justice release.
Public-health and harm-reduction advocates continue to warn that any pill not obtained from a licensed pharmacy can be deadly, especially when it is sold as a familiar prescription like an M30. They urge people to carry naloxone and use fentanyl test strips whenever possible. King County maintains a list of naloxone access points and harm-reduction services at Public Health - Seattle & King County.
