Two Madras men were arrested for tracking commercial quantities of drugs in Jefferson County. On March 15th, 2023, at approximately 10:30 a.m., detectives with the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team and Special Agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration arrested a 29-year-old and a 22-year-old from Madras during an ongoing investigation.
CODE and DEA investigated a report that the two suspects were importing large quantities of controlled substances into the central Oregon area from Mexico.
On March 15th, 2023, CODE and DEA, with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, and Oregon State Police, executed simultaneous federal search warrants at a home and an apartment in Madras. During the searches, agents seized commercial quantities of counterfeit oxycodone pills believed to contain fentanyl. In addition, cocaine, methamphetamine, three pistols and five rifles were also seized.
The counterfeit pills are meant to look like common pharmaceutical-grade painkiller oxycodone. However, these fake pills contain fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid similar to morphine but up to 100 times more potent. The cheap, counterfeit pills containing fentanyl are fueling an increase in fatal drug overdoses across Oregon. visit www.Dea.gov/OnePill for more information.
This case has been forwarded to the United States Attorney’s Office in Portland, charging consideration.
Both suspects were booked in the Multnomah County Adult Jail with the following federal charges;
Violations of Title 21, 846, 841, & 843 – Conspiracy to Distribute & Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and Fentanyl.
This investigation is ongoing, and more arrests are expected. Therefore, limited information is available for release at this time.
