A 21-year-old man from Lakewood was sentenced for running a drug trafficking organization.
Antonio Encinas will spend seven years behind bars for leading the organization, which distributed pound quantities of methamphetamine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“The impact that controlled substances have in our communities are immeasurable,” Chief U.S. District Judge David Estudillo said at Friday’s sentencing hearing.
Estudillo added that Encinas “had been involved in this conduct for some time.”
Lakewood man first linked to drug trafficking when he was 17 years old
Encinas was first tagged by law enforcement in 2022 when he was 17 years old. Encinas was stopped with his aunt as the two were driving up from California with a load of 14 pounds of methamphetamine, authorities reported. Neither was charged, but two years later, Encinas was leading a drug trafficking organization.
Encinas’ drug trafficking organization was indicted in March 2025, and Encinas was the lead defendant, according to records filed in the case. He arranged for pounds of drugs to be delivered by his brother or his aunt. The attorney’s office said eight members of the organization were indicted and linked to around 20 pounds of methamphetamine deliveries.
“Velazquez Encinas distributed large quantities of methamphetamine to numerous local redistributors in the South Sound region,” prosecutors wrote to the court in asking for an eight-year prison sentence. “He acted as the leader of the drug trafficking network, taking orders for methamphetamine, setting prices, and directing others to distribute the drugs on his behalf.
“The drug epidemic that has been raging for years has shown that this is by no means a victimless crime,” prosecutors continued. “Controlled substances have led to hundreds of thousands of overdose deaths a year. It is as if we are living in an unending pandemic. But this epidemic only persists because of drug traffickers such as the defendant.”
Estudillo also sentenced Encinas to four years of supervised release following his prison term.
The investigation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative.
This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com
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