Kent man, 55, sentenced to five years for drug, gun crimes
Published 1:34 pm Thursday, July 16, 2026
A 55-year-old Kent man was one of two men sentenced for drug and gun crimes related to Seattle’s International District and the homeless encampment along Interstate 5 known as “The Jungle.”
Sang Tran, of Kent, and Isai Gamboa Pacheco, 56, of Everett, were mid-level dealers selling pounds of meth and cocaine while armed with high-powered guns, according to a July 16 U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) media release. Pacheco was sentenced to six years in prison and Tran received five years and six months on July 15 in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
“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,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. “Tran had prior arrests and Gamboa Pacheco had a prior conviction and removal from the U.S. Still their greed kept them selling these poisons and carrying high-powered firearms to protect their drug trade.”
According to records filed in the case, the investigation began in November 2023, with the Seattle Police, FBI and DEA focusing on drug trafficking organizations dealing fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine,and heroin in the homeless encampments of Seattle and in drug trafficking areas of the International District at locations such as 12th and Jackson. Tran was in the first group of defendants arrested in January 2025. During the first arrest operation law enforcement seized 17 firearms and 23 kilos of a suspected narcotic powder.
Tran had been heard on the wiretap arranging to purchase a pound of methamphetamine and redistribute it to another individual. When law enforcement searched his home, they found about 330 gross grams of cocaine, a loaded Tauris 12 shotgun, ammunition, and proceeds of his drug trafficking activities in the form of United States currency, jewelry and Rolex watches. In his garage, investigators found two more rifles. Tran admitted he kept the guns to protect his drugs and drug proceeds. He also pleaded guilty to money laundering for his efforts to hide drug proceeds by laundering tens of thousands of dollars through a nail salon.
Gamboa Pacheco was arrested in the second takedown involving this drug trafficking conspiracy. Following the January takedown, law enforcement continued the investigation into drug traffickers who were distributing in Washington state. This organization made frequent trips into Oregon and California. In March 2025 alone, law enforcement seized 100 pounds of methamphetamine, 111 kilos of cocaine, 19 kilos of fentanyl powder, 250,000 fentanyl pills, and four kilos of heroin. The street value of the narcotics was nearly $3 million.
On May 29, 2025, law enforcement executed 16 search warrants in Federal Way, Vancouver, Everett, Pacific, Tukwila, Kent, Issaquah, Seattle, Woodlake, California and Beaverton, Oregon. Investigators seized more than seven kilograms of cocaine, 18 kilograms of methamphetamine, more than 57,000 fentanyl pills, and 17 firearms. They also seized more than $353,000 in cash, according to the DOJ.
