A 33-year-old Mexican national, Martin Alonzo Peinado Torres, has been sentenced to 22 months in prison for his role as a courier in a large-scale drug trafficking operation in Seattle.
According to the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller announced that Peinado Torres was involved in a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including methamphetamine and fentanyl.
Peinado Torres claimed that he was lured to the U.S. by a Facebook post promising work in construction, but once he had filled out the necessary forms, he was told that the job was actually to transport drugs. He stated that the drug ring now has his family’s information and threatened his family members if he did not comply.
U.S. District Judge Kymberly Evanson noted that Peinado Torres had no previous criminal history in Mexico or the U.S., saying, ‘You were lured to the U.S. under false pretenses.’
When search warrants were served at Peinado Torres’ Kent home on August 2, 2024, investigators found over three kilos of methamphetamine, nearly a kilo of fentanyl pills, a small amount of fentanyl powder, and cocaine. He also had over $12,000 in drug proceeds in cash.
Prosecutors asked for a four-year sentence, citing the latest deadly stats on fentanyl overdoses in King County, where 453 overdose deaths had occurred as of June 16, 2025, with 380 of those deaths involving fentanyl. ‘Mr. Peinado Torres’ actions pushed highly dangerous, deadly, and addictive substances into the community, and contributed to the addiction of an unknown number of individuals,’ prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo.
Peinado Torres will likely be deported following his prison term. The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Puyallup Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Casey Conzatti.
The case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation, which uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States.
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Key Facts
- State: Washington
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|Sex Crimes|Cybercrime|Public Corruption|Weapons|Human Trafficking|White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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