Charges filed against accused Ballard fentanyl dealer

King County prosecutors have filed charges against a man arrested in a big fentanyl bust in Ballard last week.

23-year-old Jose Luque-Gutierrez was arrested last week after Seattle Police, Homeland Security, and the FBI teamed up on a controlled-buy operation with the help of a cooperative witness.

The Crime Blotter: 15 guns, 5.5 pounds of fentanyl recovered in North Seattle drug bust

According to charging documents, the witness told investigators they had bought fentanyl powder and pills from a drug dealer operating in North Seattle multiple times over the previous six months.

According to court records, the witness called the dealer and asked for a kilo of fentanyl powder and 10,000 fentanyl pills. The person on the phone said they would meet the witness in one hour with the goods. When the suspect showed up carrying a box, the witness identified the man as a runner for the drug dealer they knew.

Investigators searched the box and found over 1,000 grams of fentanyl powder and nearly 900 grams of fentanyl pills. According to charging documents, they also found about two grams of meth and nearly $2,500 on Luque-Gutierrez.

Luque-Gutierrez has been charged with violating the Controlled Substances Act for possession with intent to deliver. Prosecutors asked that he be held on a $150,000 bail, noting he was unlikely to appear in response to a summons.

Luque-Gutierrez has no criminal history in Washington state and was carrying a Mexico-issued driver’s license at the time of his arrest.

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