Trafficker who brought illegal drugs by the pound into Western WA sentenced to prison

TACOMA — A high-level drug trafficker from Kent received a 10-year federal sentence for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine in the Seattle U.S. District Court on Tuesday.

Omar Vazquez-Limon, 38, was arrested in August 2020 in northern California as he transported kilograms of heroin and methamphetamine for distribution in Western Washington, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Vazquez-Limon was indicted by a grand jury in December 2020 with 10 other people for a multi-state drug trafficking conspiracy. Members of the conspiracy distributed illegal narcotics in areas such as Pierce, King and Snohomish counties. Law enforcement seized pounds of methamphetamine, 15 pounds of heroin, 35,000 fentanyl pills, 24 firearms, $778,000 and a bank account valued at $100,000 in connection with the drug ring, the release said.

“Mr. Vazquez-Limon’s drug trafficking widened the circles of those touched by the opioid epidemic, spreading meth, heroin and fentanyl in Western Washington,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman in the release. “He not only trafficked narcotics, he was also a source of firearms for the drug ring. As we struggle with an increase in gun violence, those who arm themselves to protect their drug supply contribute to the problem.”

Vazquez-Limon was a high-level narcotics distributor and in direct contact with Mexico drug suppliers. He made multiple-pound drug deals and either made the deliveries himself or instructed other members to make them. In a call intercepted by law enforcement, Vazquez-Limon said he had about 75 pounds of methamphetamine ready for distribution, the release said.

The federal sentence will run concurrently with Vazquez-Limon’s Shasta County six-year sentence he received for drug trafficking in northern California. A U.S. District judge also imposed five years of supervised release to follow the 10-year prison term.