Four suspected drug traffickers with ties to a Mexico-based transnational criminal organization are facing federal charges after they were caught transporting nearly 370 gallons of liquid heroin, according to U.S. officials.
Marco Antonio Magallon, 44; Luis Deleon Woodward, 26; and Jorge Luis Amador, 25, from Yakima, and Santos Alisael Aguilar Maya, 32, whose place of residence is unknown, were charged Friday with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute heroin, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Oregon.
According to court documents, on Jan. 24, 2024, as part of an ongoing drug trafficking investigation, law enforcement obtained information that several individuals working for a transnational criminal organization were transporting a large load of illegal narcotics into Oregon.
Late in the evening of Jan. 24 and in the early morning hours of Jan. 25, investigators observed a rented moving truck driven by Amador and an accompanying red pickup truck traveling west on I-84 near Bonneville in the Columbia River Gorge that creates a natural border between the states of Washington and Oregon. Investigators observed the vehicles traveling together to a motel in Tigard, Oregon, making one brief stop in a commercial parking lot in Beaverton.
Later on Jan. 25, investigators executed federal search warrants on the defendants’ motel room and two vehicles.
Officials said investigators located and seized eight 55-gallon barrels containing approximately 370 gallons of a liquid narcotic inside the moving truck and two loaded handguns inside the motel room.
All four men were arrested without incident. Investigators transported the seized narcotic, which weighed approximately 1.4 metric tons, to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) narcotics room. Lab tests later confirmed the barrels contained liquid heroin.
