Final sentence handed down in Seattle Chinatown drug trafficking case

A Newcastle man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for leading drug trafficking operations across Seattle homeless encampments.

Tommy Pham, 39, supplied fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine to areas such as Seattle’s Chinatown-International District and the “Jungle” under I-5. Pham reportedly acted as both a direct dealer and a supplier.

Pham appeared for sentencing in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington on Wednesday, Oct. 21. Pham was ordered by the court to serve five years of supervised release following prison, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

“You weren’t only playing with your own life but with the lives of thousands of people for the drugs you were pumping into our community,” U.S. District Judge Tana Lin said during sentencing. “Think of the impact not only on your family but all the other families impacted by addiction. The combo of drugs and guns significantly increases the risk of harm.”

The investigation

Authorities arrested Pham in December 2024, after finding him in possession of a loaded gun, methamphetamine, and cash. Just a month later, authorities seized 17 firearms and multiple illegal drugs. Five firearms were linked to Pham.

The investigation began almost a year earlier in November 2023 with the Seattle Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) working together to disrupt drug trafficking organizations.

“He continued to prey on those in the International District and surrounding areas, which is a focus for this office,” Acting U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd noted. “This repeat offender needs to spend a long time in federal prison to protect the community.”

The investigation is part of a larger effort under the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, and human smuggling and trafficking rings in the United States.

The last of 5

Pham is the final defendant to be sentenced in the case. Khampheth Keodara, Theodore Nation, Donfeuy Saephan and Sang Tran were previously sentenced to prison terms ranging from 30 months to 10 years for their roles in the case.

“The defendant knowingly targeted some of Seattle’s most vulnerable, those experiencing homelessness, already struggling to survive,” DEA Seattle Special Agent Robert A. Saccone said.

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