Members of violent Seattle-area drug trafficking organization indicted

SEATTLE — Federal, state and local law enforcement personnel moved in Tuesday to arrest 18 members of a violent drug ring suspected of trafficking cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine across the Puget South region.

The suspects arrested Tuesday are among 23 defendants indicted in the case, which stems from a two-year undercover probe involving multiple agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). As early as February 2013, authorities infiltrated the organization using wiretaps and confidential informants. Court documents allege the ring was distributing an estimated 20 kilograms of cocaine, nearly 15 kilograms of heroin and about 5 kilograms of methamphetamine a month. During the investigation, law enforcement seized drugs and cash, including a September 2014 seizure of 2 kilograms of cocaine, 450 grams of methamphetamine and $14,000 cash from a rental car. In March, investigators seized more than $32,000 from a hidden compartment in another vehicle.

Drug activity associated with the organization occurred over a wide geographic area with drug sales occurring at homes and near businesses in Seattle, Renton, Shoreline and Kent, including the Viet Wah supermarket near South Jackson Street and the parking lot of Dick’s Drive-In restaurant on NE 45th Street.

Defendants arrested Monday include:

• Son V. Tran, 28, of Seattle;
• Cuong T. Le, 57, of Federal Way;
• Niem H. Doan, aka “Linh,” 36, of Everett;
• Huy V. Tran, 39, of Seattle;
• Patrick Wong, aka “Minh” 48, of Seattle;
• Son T. Nguyen, aka “Nine Fingers” aka “Kim,” 42, of Seattle;
• Tam C. Nguyen, aka “Andy,” 39, of Tukwila;
• Brieanna K. Carlson, 27, of Seattle;
• Yen T. Vu, 54, of Seattle;
• Phuong A. Nguyen, aka “P,” 42, of Kent;
• Vinh Q. Nguyen, 29, of Seattle;
• Giang T. Ngo, aka “Uncle Jack,” 51, of Burien;
• Phuong H. Nguyen, aka “LJ,” 30, of Kent;
• Kenneth W. Thomas, 55, of SeaTac;
• Donald K. Jordan, aka “Looney,” 34, of Seattle;
• Donald C. Scholoff, 47, of Edmonds;
• Steven J. Connell, 47, of Seattle; and
• Kimberle S. Alojasin, aka “Nguyen,” 56, of South King County.

“These defendants preyed on our community by supplying drugs in neighborhoods across Seattle, and demonstrated a willingness to use violence where it served their purposes,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. “Their criminal activities included hiding weapons and using violence in homeless encampments located along Interstate 5.”

This was an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation, which provided supplemental federal funding to the federal and state agencies involved. The probe was led by the FBI’s Seattle Safe Streets Task Force (SSTF) and the Bellevue Police Department’s Eastside Narcotics Task Force (ENTF). The SSTF includes task force officers from the Seattle Police Department. The ENTF is composed of officers and agents from the Bellevue Police Department; Washington State Patrol; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and the Redmond, Kirkland, and Mercer Island police departments in partnership with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Additional assistance was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF); the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); HSI; the King County Sheriff’s Office; the Washington State Department of Corrections; and the Kent and Tukwila police departments; and the Seattle Fire Department.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.