SPOKANE, Wash. — A jury found a Mexican national guilty of drug and weapons crimes, and the man now faces life in prison.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 45-year-old Luis Esquivel-Bolanos of Guerrero, Mexico was part of a drug trafficking network flooding eastern Washington and Montana.
In April 2023, law enforcement executed multiple search warrants at homes in Okanogan County near Oroville. Investigators located approximately 161,000 fentanyl pills, 80 lbs. of meth, six lbs. of heroin, and two lbs. of cocaine. 12 firearms were also seized.
Investigators say many of the narcotics were taken from the trailer Esquivel-Bolanos was living in.
In the trial, evidence showed Esquivel-Bolanos received drugs from the Jalisco Cartel and threatened to have people killed to keep power over the region.
Esquivel-Bolanos is set to be sentenced July 16, 2025. He faces life imprisonment and deportation.
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