Drug broker sentenced to 12.5 years for shipping ‘highly pure’ meth, fentanyl to western Washington

A 42-year-old Phoenix man with previous convictions for drug trafficking was sentenced Monday in Tacoma to 150 months in prison for acting as a broker for massive amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl headed to western Washington.

Ryan Matthew Gennette, a long-time resident of Auburn, was tied to large shipments of methamphetamine and fentanyl tainted M30 pills, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced.

“Not only did Mr. Gennette traffic huge amounts of dangerous drugs by mail and by courier, but he was also involved in sending firearms to cartel-connected drug sources in Mexico,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. “This sentence takes a repeat offender out of the drug business for a significant period.”

Law enforcement tracked Gennette’s shipments, seized drugs repeatedly

In June 2024, Gennette was already on law enforcement’s radar when he shipped two large boxes containing seven kilograms of fentanyl pills, nearly two kilograms of fentanyl powder, and more than 10 kilograms of actual methamphetamine to an address on Whidbey Island, according to records filed in the case.

Law enforcement seized and replaced the drugs with fake materials so that they could collect additional information on Gennette’s drug network.

Gennette then sent nine kilograms of methamphetamine via courier, but that too was seized by law enforcement.

Law enforcement worked with confidential informants to place orders for large amounts of drugs from Gennette, leading to him reaching out to an alleged contact in Mexico, Donald Budge.

Budge was also charged in the case and is detained pending trial scheduled for Dec. 15. The DOJ noted Budge is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Gennette shipped “highly pure” methamphetamine on two separate occasions in October 2024. Both shipments ended up in law enforcement custody.

One shipment of 13 kilograms of methamphetamine was tested as being 100 percent pure. Another shipment of more than 64 kilograms of actual methamphetamine, plus 6.5 kilograms of counterfeit “M30” pills manufactured to look like prescription oxycodone, was seized from a courier in a traffic stop.

Both men were arrested in November 2024, with Gennette being taken into custody in Phoenix and Budge in Tijuana, Mexico. Gennette pleaded guilty in May 2026.

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