Two Seattle-area men were sentenced on July 15 in U.S. District Court in Seattle for drug and gun offenses connected to trafficking activities in the city’s International District and the homeless encampment known as “The Jungle” along Interstate 5, according to First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Isai Gamboa Pacheco, age 56 of Everett, received a six-year prison sentence, while Sang Tran, age 55 of Kent, was sentenced to 66 months.
At Pacheco’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Tana Lin said, “Despite a previous conviction for the same offence, you came back to this country and did it again… but on a much larger scale…. You were a source of a significant amount of cocaine to members of this community. Cocaine is one of the most common drugs involved in overdose deaths. What you did contributed to that suffering.”
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd said, “Both these defendants had one job and one job only – selling large amounts of meth and cocaine for distribution in the areas of our community plagued by crime and unhoused, vulnerable people dealing with addiction.” Floyd added that Tran had prior arrests while Gamboa Pacheco had previously been convicted and removed from the United States but continued their illegal activities.
W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office, said: “Mr. Pacheco and Mr. Tran sought to profit from the addictions and suffering of others by redistributing huge quantities of dangerous drugs, and both were found in possession of even more drugs, along with firearms, during searches of their residences.” Robert A. Saccone from DEA Seattle Field Division said: “These defendants fueled addiction and violence by trafficking large quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine while arming themselves with high-powered firearms.”
The investigation began in November 2023 when local law enforcement agencies targeted organizations distributing fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin at locations including homeless encampments near downtown Seattle such as at 12th Avenue South & South Jackson Street. Law enforcement operations resulted in multiple arrests starting January 2025; during these actions authorities seized firearms—including rifles—large amounts of narcotics such as methamphetamine or cocaine as well as cash proceeds believed tied to drug sales.
Gamboa Pacheco pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy charges involving controlled substances distribution as well as being an alien unlawfully possessing a firearm; he has no legal status in the United States following previous removal proceedings.
This case forms part of Homeland Security Task Force efforts under Executive Order 14159 aimed at dismantling criminal cartels operating domestically or abroad through interagency collaboration among federal agencies including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), Bureau Alcohol Tobacco Firearms & Explosives (ATF), United States Marshals Service (USMS) alongside state partners such as Washington National Guard Counterdrug Program.
The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Casey Conzatti and Brian Wynne for the Western District which covers areas including Seattle and Tacoma with about 85 attorneys managing federal prosecutions supported by approximately seventy staff members; it also addresses community safety initiatives targeting gun violence or online threats, according to the official website.