A federal judge sentenced a 33-year-old Mexican citizen, who was illegally residing in Kent, to 22 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
Martin Alonzo Peinado Torres said in U.S. District Court Monday, June 23 in Seattle, that he was lured to the states by a Facebook post promising work in construction, but once he had filled out the forms for the “employer” he was told the job was to transport drugs, according to an U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) press release. Peinado Torres claimed the drug ring now had all his family information and threatened family members if he did not comply.
U.S. District Judge Kymberly Evanson noted Peinado Torres had no previous criminal history in Mexico or the U.S.
“You were lured to the U.S. under false pretenses,” Evanson said prior to sentencing Peinado Torres to half of the prison time requested by prosecutors.
Prosecutors asked for a four-year sentence and noted the latest deadly stats on fentanyl overdoses.
“In King County, alone, there have been 453 overdose deaths as of June 16, 2025, with 380 of those deaths involving fentanyl,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo. “Mr. Peinado’s actions pushed highly dangerous, deadly and addictive substances into the community, and contributed to the addiction of an unknown number of individuals.”
According to records filed in the case, Peinado Torres became involved with a drug ring already under investigation. Peinado Torres arrived in the U.S. in mid-May 2024 and by mid-June 2024 investigators had identified him as someone involved with the drug trafficking organization.
When search warrants were served on Aug. 2, 2024, at Peinado Torres home in Kent, he had more than three kilos of methamphetamine, nearly a kilo of fentanyl pills and a small amount of fentanyl powder and cocaine, according to the DOJ. He had more than $12,000 in drug proceeds in cash.
Peinado Torres will likely be deported following his prison term, according to the DOJ. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances earlier this year.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations and the Puyallup Police Department.
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