Federal authorities say they have broken up a fentanyl trafficking network operating in Pierce County, arresting more than a dozen suspects and seizing large amounts of drugs, cash, and weapons after an 18-month investigation.
The operation, announced Tuesday by the FBI’s Seattle office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, targeted what officials described as a violent conspiracy that funneled fentanyl into Washington from other states. On August 20, law enforcement executed 13 search warrants across the region, arresting eight of nine people named in a federal indictment for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. Five more suspects were taken into custody after investigators uncovered drugs and firearms in homes and vehicles.
Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller said the investigation relied on surveillance, confidential informants, and a court-approved wiretap that allowed agents to monitor communications of suspected ringleader Bryant Moss. Prosecutors allege Moss and Gary Williams oversaw the operation, which recruited couriers, some of them women traveling by plane, to carry fentanyl-laced pills from Arizona and Nevada into Washington.
Several of those arrested are accused of ties to the Knoccout Crips, a Tacoma gang linked to violent crime. Tacoma Police Chief Patti Jackson called the takedown a reminder that gang activity will not be tolerated, urging young people in the community to seek better opportunities.
Court documents describe a series of raids and seizures. Investigators say they found a Glock handgun and drug packaging materials in William Young’s home, while another suspect, Jaylin Irish, allegedly stored a loaded firearm inside a child’s bedroom. James Whitaker reportedly admitted to hiding bags of blue fentanyl pills in his attic, which agents later recovered.
In total, authorities seized more than 34 kilograms of fentanyl during the investigation, along with 45 kilograms of marijuana and nine firearms. In the final hours before the arrests, they confiscated an additional 2.6 kilograms of fentanyl, nearly 7 kilograms of methamphetamine, 27 kilograms of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, 23 guns, and more than $111,000 in cash.
Officials said the scale of the drug seizures means some defendants could face mandatory minimum sentences of ten years in prison. The case is part of the FBI’s “Summer Heat” initiative targeting violent crime and major narcotics operations.
The South Sound Safe Streets Gang Task Force led the investigation, working alongside Homeland Security Investigations, Tacoma and Lakewood police, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, and the Washington State Department of Corrections. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristine Foerster and Crystal Correa are prosecuting the case.
