(The Center Square) – An Oregon-based drug trafficking cell leader with ties to a large Mexico-based drug trafficking organization received a federal prison sentence this week after an investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Horacio Luna-Perez, 42, of Hillsboro, Oregon, got a 97-month federal prison sentence and five years’ supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
DEA special agents started investigating a drug trafficking organization that operated in several states, including Oregon; the organization had ties to Mexico.
“In the early stages of the investigation, Luna-Perez was identified as the leader of an Oregon-based drug trafficking cell responsible for maintaining a constant supply and sale of various narcotics, including methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl, in Portland and Eastern Washington,” the release said. “In his role, Luna-Perez directed a network of associates and couriers responsible for obtaining, selling, and redistributing the narcotics.”
In the same investigation, DEA agents identified another drug trafficking cell responsible for the redistribution and sale of drugs in Portland and Salem, Oregon. Jesus Miramontes-Castaneda, a 34-year-old Portland resident, led the operation.
A federal grand jury in Portland indicted Miramontes-Castaneda and five associates on August 11, 2021, for “conspiring with one another to traffic large quantities of heroin and methamphetamine from California for distribution in Portland and Salem,” the release said.
The following month, Luna-Perez and nine associates faced charges in a separate indictment for “conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine from California for distribution in and around Portland and in Eastern Washington,” the release said.
The cell led by Luna-Perez also had ties to drug traffickers in Colorado and California.
After these indictments, law enforcement operations targeting Luna-Perez and Miramontes-Castaneda’s drug trafficking cells resulted in both men and 16 of their associates being arrested.
“Additional charges were brought against those defendants in several parallel cases,” the release said.
Due to the various interdictions and takedowns in this investigation, law enforcement seized about “200,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl, two pounds of powdered fentanyl, 40 pounds of methamphetamine, 45 pounds of heroin, 13 pounds of cocaine, nine firearms, and more than $1.4 million in cash that had been bundled and stuffed into suitcases,” the release said.
Miramontes-Castaneda pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine on August 12, 2022. He received a 78-month federal prison sentence plus five years of supervised release in December 2022.
Plus, Luna-Perez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl on January 22, 2024.
Other than Luna Perez and Miramontes-Castaneda, 17 members of their cells have also pleaded guilty and received federal prison sentences for their involvement in the various drug conspiracies.
Tom Joyce is a contributing writer for The Center Square.