Two Seattle-area men caught up in a multistate drug trafficking probe that authorities say funneled pounds of methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl into the Chinatown–International District and the I‑5 encampment known as “The Jungle” were sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Isai Gamboa Pacheco, 56, was ordered to serve six years in federal prison, while Sang Tran, 55, received a 66‑month term. Prosecutors cast both men as mid‑level dealers moving large quantities of drugs while carrying high‑powered firearms to protect their operation.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd told the court the pair “had one job and one job only, selling large amounts of meth and cocaine,” and argued their dealing specifically preyed on vulnerable, unhoused people struggling with addiction. U.S. District Judge Tana Lin criticized Pacheco for returning to trafficking after a prior conviction, saying his conduct heightened the risk of overdoses and violence, as reported by KOMO News.
Investigation and Major Seizures
The investigation launched in November 2023 and grew into a wiretap‑driven, multi‑agency effort led by the FBI, Seattle Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration. In March 2025, investigators seized roughly 100 pounds of methamphetamine, 111 kilograms of cocaine, 19 kilograms of fentanyl powder, about 250,000 fentanyl pills and four kilograms of heroin. A coordinated takedown on May 29, 2025, involved 16 search warrants across Washington, Oregon and California and netted more than $353,000 in cash along with multiple firearms, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.
Tran's Role and Laundering Scheme
Court records and wiretap evidence show Tran arranging to purchase a pound of methamphetamine for redistribution. When agents searched his Kent home, they found about 330 gross grams of cocaine, a loaded Taurus 12‑gauge shotgun, two rifles, ammunition, U.S. currency, jewelry and Rolex watches. Tran admitted he kept the guns to protect his drugs and drug proceeds and later pleaded guilty to money‑laundering, with prosecutors saying he pushed tens of thousands of dollars through a nail salon to disguise illicit profits, as reported by KOMO News.
Pacheco's Arrest and Vehicle Search
Investigators say Pacheco surfaced on a wiretap arranging kilogram‑level cocaine deals. When they served search warrants at his home and on his vehicles, they recovered nearly three kilograms of methamphetamine and, inside one Honda, an unloaded Colt AR‑15 rifle with a drum magazine. Pacheco pleaded guilty in March 2026 to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and to being an alien in possession of a firearm. Prosecutors had sought a 90‑month sentence before the court settled on six years, and records show he had previously been removed from the United States, according to KIRO‑TV.
Prosecution and Partners
The cases were brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey Conzatti and Brian Wynne handling the prosecutions. Federal officials say the work relied on significant help from IRS‑Criminal Investigation, King County authorities and multiple local police agencies, and is part of a broader push against trafficking in the International District and encampments along I‑5, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
W. Mike Herrington, the FBI's Seattle special agent in charge, said the defendants “sought to profit from the addictions and suffering of others,” a line prosecutors highlighted to emphasize the human toll at the center of the case, according to KIRO‑TV. The sentences for Pacheco and Tran are the latest in a string of federal penalties tied to the ongoing probe of drug distribution around the International District and the encampments under I‑5.
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