On March 1, 2022, a coordinated law enforcement operation targeting four drug traffickers operating in the Portland Metropolitan Area led to the seizure of approximately 150,000 counterfeit prescriptions pills containing fentanyl and 20 pounds of suspected bulk fentanyl, the largest single fentanyl seizure in Oregon state history with an estimated street value of approximately $4 million.
The operation, led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Clackamas County Inter-agency Task Force (CCITF) with assistance from the FBI, came after federal agents learned that Ufrano Orozco Munoz, 27, was knowingly and intentionally conspiring with others to traffic large quantities of fentanyl manufactured in Mexico and elsewhere to Oregon for distribution and sale in the Portland area.
Three of Orozco’s associates were also arrested during this week’s operation. They include Abraham Vera Enriquez, 29; Jesus Miguel Zamora Cruz, 36; and Jose Javier Valdez Paramo, 32.
Orozco, Vera, Zamora, and Valdez have been charged by criminal complaint with conspiring with one another to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. All three made their first appearances in federal court today and were ordered detained pending further court proceedings.
HSI began investigating Orozco in February 2022 for his role in trafficking large quantities of fentanyl from Mexico to the U.S. for distribution in several western states including Arizona and Oregon.
This case is being investigated by HSI and CCITF with assistance from the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott M. Kerin is prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is only an accusation of a crime, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Acting U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.
