A reported Mexico-based leader of a violent drug trafficking ring, with ties to a Kent man sentenced three years ago for his role in the organization, pleaded not guilty to federal charges filed against him.
Jose Luis Sanchez-Valencia, 58, who was transported from Mexico to the United States last month, entered his plea Feb. 12 in U.S. District Court in Seattle, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release.
Sanchez-Valencia faces charges of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and three counts of illegal use of a communication facility, which is using a cellphone to communicate with another person to negotiate and/or arrange a drug transaction. The indictment for the four federal felonies was returned in 2022.
A trial date for Sanchez-Valencia is set for April 20.
“This defendant was the cartel-connected leader of a violent drug trafficking ring operating in the South Puget Sound region,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neal Floyd. “His telephone calls link him to the conspiracy and to a local leader who was shot outside a Kitsap County stash house. Our goal in these investigations is to bring the leaders to justice. Whether they are here in Washington or abroad, they are pulling the strings for the cartels that profit at the cost of human lives in our community.”
On Feb. 28, 2023, a local leader of the drug ring, Jose Elias Barbosa, of Kent, was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for his leadership role in the drug trafficking organization tied to the CJNG cartel. The Sanchez-Valencia indictment cites three phone calls between Barbosa and Sanchez-Valencia tied to activities of the drug ring.
In November 2019, the drug trafficking organization received a shipment of liquid methamphetamine concealed in candles, according to court records. Barbosa helped drug ring members to extract the methamphetamine and cook it into crystal form at a Port Orchard location. While law enforcement was surveilling the operation, Barbosa was shot and injured behind the house.
The wiretapped calls in this investigation revealed a culture of violence. Members pursued those who owed drug debts to the organization and possessed firearms during the drug conspiracy. The wiretapped calls showed members discussed kidnappings, assaults and even murders as ways to get debtors to pay up.
The charges in the indictment have penalties of a mandatory minimum 10 years in prison and up to life in prison.
Sanchez-Valencia was amongst 37 Mexican nationals wanted for serious crimes in the United States transferred into U.S. custody on Jan. 20. The Justice Department Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs coordinated the transfers.
Kent Police assisted with the investigation, which was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Tacoma Resident Office in partnership with Tahoma Narcotics Enforcement Team, Homeland Security Investigations, SeaTac Police Department, Thurston County Narcotics Team, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Internal Revenue Service- Criminal Investigation.
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