Updated at 6:24 p.m.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Local drug detectives last night made their 10th arrest in an ongoing investigation into a cocaine distribution ring that stretched from Centralia to Seattle.
Over the past “couple of” months, law enforcement officers infiltrated the organization, making numerous controlled purchases of the drug and established probable cause to search several dwellings and vehicles, according to Sgt. Brian Warren who leads the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team.
Warren said JNET was led to the larger sources in Olympia and Seattle.
Overall, they seized approximately one half pound of cocaine, one ounce of ecstasy, one half pound of psilocybin mushrooms and one loaded firearm, according to Warren. The street value of the drugs is approximately $50,000.
The three believed to be the primary individuals supplying the Lewis County area are two men from Olympia; Jacob L Gomez, 24, and Cole Johnson Kelly, 27, and then Cesar Alfonso Leiva-Licona, 30, a Honduran national residing in Seattle, according to Warren.
Leiva-Licona was arrested yesterday.
“Last night’s arrest was the head of the snake, as we say,” Warren said of Leiva-Licona. “We got him to bring a quarter pound to the Olympia area last night.”
Leiva-Licona was living here on an expired work visa, Warren said.
The three arrests occurred in Thurston and Pierce counties.
Warren said the quarter pound of cocaine confiscated would be worth $2,500 to $3,000.
The drug is not uncommon among the college crowd, he said.
The investigation was dubbed Operation Snow Patrol.
JNET is made up of a group of detectives from the Centralia Police Department, the Chehalis Police Department and the Lewis County Sheriff’ Office.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
I thought cocaine went out with T-top Camaros & LA Gear hightops…???
Nicely done!