Feds arrest 11 in alleged heroin, meth trafficking ring in North Sound



SEATTLE -- Officials say eleven people have been arrested on federal charges in connection with heroin and methamphetamine trafficking in the north Puget Sound region.

U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes says the arrests happened Tuesday after a six-month investigation.

She says search warrants also were served July 17 at thirty locations which netted 18 firearms, 10 pounds of heroin, 20 pounds of meth and over $500,000 in cash.

Hayes says among those arrested was 40-year-old Jose Verduzco Urias who has homes in Snohomish and Sedro-Wooley and is believed to be the local leader of the drug-trafficking ring.

It wasn't immediately known if he has obtained a lawyer.

DEA Special Agent in Charge Keith Weis of the Pacific Northwest region says removal of the group will thwart the flow of foreign-sourced heroin.

“Most of these groups that we’ve been working, we’ve linked them to heinous acts of violence, anywhere from drive by shootings to home invasions to murders.  A lot of the drugs they are pushing out there are responsible for overdoses. We suffer three or more overdoses a day here in the Pacific NW,” said SAC Weis.