‘Behemoth bust:’ King County deputies get $1.3M worth of drugs off the streets

After several months of investigating, the efforts of deputies and detectives with the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) have paid off.

According to a Facebook post by the sheriff’s office Friday, law enforcement took more than $1.3 million worth of narcotics and property off the streets.

“A behemoth bust for our Special Emphasis Teams in SeaTac, Precinct 4 and our Criminal Investigative Unit,” KCSO wrote.

More local crime: Seattle cops break up downtown drug deal, arrest suspect after foot chase

The sheriff’s office explained that on Sunday, along Interstate 5 (I-5) near Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), law enforcement arrested a suspected drug trafficker. KCSO said the man is allegedly known for selling cocaine and ketamine from Seattle to Bremerton.

The man was subsequently booked on charges of possession and intent to sell.

During the arrest, deputies seized 24 pounds of cocaine, 2 pounds of ketamine, 1 pound of MDMA, 50 pounds of processed marijuana, 1,000 ecstasy pills, 9 firearms, $6,000 in cash and one 2020 Subaru Outback.

More on MyNW: Car prowling suspects arrested after firing shots at deputies during multi-city chase

Previous drug arrests in King County

Earlier this week, five men the FBI, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Seattle Police Department call the most notorious, most violent drug traffickers in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District were federally charged.

Their arrests come following a 14-month undercover operation led by the DEA called Operation Jungle Strike. Those arrested are all believed to be part of the Jungle Strike drug trafficking organization.

“We tend not to put a monetary value on the drugs we seize but what I can tell you is the quantity of fentanyl powder we seized in this case was enough to potentially kill 1.7 million people,” DEA Special Agent in Charge David Reames said.

The five men indicted in the Seattle case are: Tommy Pham, 37, of Newcastle; Donfeuy Saephan, 54, of Seattle; Khampheth Keodara, 42, of Seattle; Sang Tran, 54, of Kent; Theodore Nation, 35, of Seattle.

The five defendants are charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Nation is also charged with possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute. Pham and Tran are charged with distribution of controlled substances. Pham is also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm because he has a criminal history that bars him from possessing firearms.

Contributing: James Lynch, KIRO Newsradio

Julia Dallas is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read her stories here. Follow Julia on X and email her here.