PORTLAND, Ore.—A Central Oregon drug trafficker has been sentenced to federal prison for conspiring to traffic fentanyl and methamphetamine in the region.
Israel Sarabia, 30, of Culver, Oregon, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release.
Sarabia was found guilty of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine in a joint investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team (CODE).
According to court documents, investigators discovered that a Central Oregon drug trafficking organization was using a courier to transport bulk quantities of drugs from either Southern California or Mexico into Oregon. On December 10, 2022, investigators located and stopped the courier in Klamath Falls, Oregon. The search of the vehicle revealed three packages containing approximately 30,000 counterfeit Oxycodone pills that later tested positive for fentanyl.
Further investigation revealed that the courier was traveling to Sarabia’s residence and that he had been tasked by Sarabia with bringing him fentanyl from Southern California or Mexico. On March 15, 2023, investigators located and arrested Sarabia near his residence in Culver. A search of the residence of a co-conspirator revealed 519 grams of methamphetamine, over 1,000 fentanyl pills, 41 grams of cocaine, and nine firearms.
The investigation was a joint effort between DEA and CODE, a multi-jurisdictional narcotics task force supported by the Oregon-Idaho High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program.
Sarabia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine on August 21, 2023. He was prosecuted by Lewis S. Burkhart, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
The CODE team includes members of various law enforcement agencies, including the Bend, Redmond, Prineville, Madras, Sunriver, and Black Butte Police Departments; the Warm Springs Tribal Police Department; and the Oregon State Police.
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Key Facts
- State: Oregon
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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