Local law enforcement crackdown on drug ring tied to white supremacist gang ‘Aryan Family' yields significant drugs and firearms

Law enforcement officials from various agencies came together last March 22 to launch coordinated arrests of suspected gun-running and drug-dealing operatives linked to a white supremacist group with ties to Mexican drug cartels.

In a Thurston County Sheriff’s Office post, the operations have resulted in 27 indictments.

According to the, over 350 officers from Washington State Patrol, Department of Corrections, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) banded together to form the Thurston County Narcotics Task Force (TNT) and assisted in operations conducted by local, state, and federal agents.

“Investigators learned that fentanyl was being sent from Mexico over the southern border to be distributed in the Pacific Northwest,” TCSO explained, “in exchange for rifles and firearms shipped back to the cartels in Mexico to assist in their violent turf wars.

The arrests, according to the Sheriff’s Office, have resulted in the following seizures:

• 1 million fentanyl pills (~650k seized in Shelton)
• 8 pounds of fentanyl powder
• 250 pounds of methamphetamine
• 11 pounds of heroin
• 6 pounds of cocaine
• $719,000 of US currency
• 223 AR15s/rifles/other firearms

“TCSO would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the local, state, and federal partners who all came together to dismantle a criminal enterprise poisoning our community,” the post said.

The Western District Washington State Attorney’s Office(WDWA) also released a press release on the incident, listing the indicted individuals. Many were listed from the surrounding area.

“Combatting large criminal enterprises who have tentacles into our communities, prisons, and borders cannot be accomplished without partnerships at all levels. This joint effort demonstrates our capabilities to investigate and seize firearms, narcotics and large amounts of cash used to destabilize our communities and institutions,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer, who oversees Pacific Northwest HSI operations, quoted in the press release. “We’re thankful to the FBI, DEA, ATF, CBP, Tacoma PD, Thurston County Narcotics Task Force and all our partners in this investigation which made the dismantlement of this organization possible.”

The FBI led the investigation with teamwork from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Washington State Department of Corrections and the local enforcement agencies that contributed significant assistance were the Thurston County Narcotics Task Force, led by the Thurston County Sherriff’s Office, the Tacoma Police Department and Pierce County Sheriff’s Office. Other agencies that assisted through the investigation: Washington State Patrol, Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, Lakewood Police Department and U.S. Postal Inspection Services.