Woodinville leader of multi-state drug trafficking ring sentenced to 9 years

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WASHINGTON - A Woodinville man and multi-state drug trafficking group leader has been sentenced to nine years in prison for his involvement in distributing drugs across the West Coast.

39-year-old Jose Luis Ibarra-Valle was arrested in December 2020 following a months-long investigation, which included phone wiretaps.

The investigation revealed Ibarra-Valle was bringing drugs up from California to Oregon and western Washington. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized 16,000 fentanyl pills, 30 pounds of methamphetamine, and six pounds of heroin.

Investigators say Ibarra-Valle was the leader of that multi-state trafficking ring.

Five members of the drug trafficking ring have already been convicted and sentenced.
At his sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones said, "You introduced large quantities of heroin and fentanyl into this community…drugs that are highly addictive and dangerous."