SEATTLE, Wash. — A 39-year-old man from Newcastle was sentenced to ten years in prison on Wednesday for his part in a drug operation that sold and distributed drugs to people living in Seattle’s homeless encampments and international district.
According to a press release from United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, Pham sold fentanyl pills, methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine directly and to distributors who then sold drugs to people residing in “The Jungle” a homeless encampment under I-5 near Seattle’s International District
“Mr. Pham was fueled by greed, putting profit ahead of human life as the source of supply funneling fentanyl and other illicit drugs into Seattle’s Chinatown International District and ‘The Jungle,’” said Robert A. Saccone, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. “The defendant knowingly targeted some of Seattle’s most vulnerable, those experiencing homelessness, already struggling to survive. Through Fentanyl Free America and with the support of our federal, state, and local partners, DEA is disrupting the fentanyl supply chain, reducing the availability of these deadly drugs, and saving American lives.”
Pham’s sentencing follows his arrest in January 2025, where law enforcement seized 17 firearms and various quantities of controlled substances. Five of the firearms were seized from Pham’s residence and vehicle.
Pham was arrested at a casino near his home with methamphetamine, marijuana and one firearm on him.
Pham is the fifth and final defendant to be sentenced in the case. Khampheth Keodara, 43, of Seattle was sentenced in April 2026 to 75 months in prison. Theodore Nation, 36, of Seattle was sentenced in February 2026 to 30 months in prison. Donfeuy Saephan, 55, of Seattle, was sentenced in July 2026 to 120 months in prison. Sang Tran, 55, of Kent, Washington, was sentenced in July to 66 months in prison.
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