CRIME BLOTTER

Seattle man gets 35 years for fentanyl, meth trafficking tied to Phoenix drug ring

Feb 9, 2026, 11:41 AM

Seattle drug trafficking...

A photo of a Department of Justice flag waving outside of the Department of Justice building. (Photo courtesy of the Depeartment of Justice)

(Photo courtesy of the Depeartment of Justice)

A Seattle man was sentenced to 35 years in prison for violating federal narcotics laws relating to a transnational criminal organization.

Bryce Hill, 28, was among 35 individuals charged for their participation in a narcotics and money laundering conspiracy, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday.

The domestic and international narcotics conspiracy involved substantial quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine.

U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan imposed the sentence on Hill, who was convicted after a two-and-a-half-week trial in September 2025.

Wiretap, search warrants uncover massive drug stash

During the trial, evidence established that Hill was a member of the Phoenix-based Monarrez Drug Trafficking Organization, a transnational criminal organization that had distributed millions of fentanyl pills, hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine, and dozens of kilograms of cocaine from August 2021 to June 2023.

“The Monarrez TCO provided the drugs to a network of subordinate drug distributors, who redistributed the narcotics throughout the country, including into western Pennsylvania,” the DOJ stated.

Hill was intercepted on a federal wiretap, obtaining hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills and kilograms of fentanyl powder for redistribution.

A search warrant was executed on January 11, 2023, where law enforcement seized 27 kilograms of fentanyl pills, multiple firearms, and $387,000 in cash from Hill’s apartment.

Authorities also seized 28 kilograms of fentanyl pills, 7.5 kilograms of fentanyl powder, three kilograms of cocaine, 48 kilograms of methamphetamine, and 20 firearms from a short-term rental property in Scottsdale, Arizona, on December 25, 2022.

The jury found that Hill conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, 400 grams or more of fentanyl, and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.

Hill’s sentencing followed that of 32 other co-defendants, including two Kent residents and a SeaTac resident.

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