WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Multiple operations involving federal agents

10:28 AM: Thanks for the tips. Shown in our photo are some of the law-enforcement vehicles that were blocking a section of 26th SW between Findlay and Brandon this morning, one of at least four West Seattle locations where readers have reported seeing operations involving federal agents. FBI agents in marked jackets were still on scene at this one when we went by, and would confirm only that it was a warrant situation. (As indicated by the one marked vehicle in our photo, a Washington State Patrol K-9 team was involved as well.) Other locations where readers reported federal agents included 16th SW in Riverside – where a reader also was told it was warrant service, and where “flashbangs” were heard – 21st SW on Puget Ridge, and near Riverview Playfield. We have inquiries out to both federal and local agencies and will update with whatever we hear back.

4:09 PM: Looks like we won’t get full details until tomorrow. SPD told us info would be coming from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The latter has just sent a media advisory announcing a downtown briefing tomorrow afternoon on “indictments of three drug trafficking groups (and) more than a thousand pounds of drugs seized” with “more than a dozen arrests.” The briefing lineup includes the regional U.S. Attorney, local FBI and DEA leaders, and SPD Chief Adrian Diaz. We’ll be there.

DebbieG October 25, 2022 (11:06 am)

My area started just after 5AM, with 1/2 dozen flash bangs and a recorded voice that I couldn’t understand. Very ominous black vehicles with heavily tinted windows blocked my driveway as well as my neighbors cars. Felt very apocalyptic and very scary way to wake up.

Sillygoose October 25, 2022 (11:06 am)

YES!! This made my Tuesday to see the officers taking the creeps off of the streets. Fingers crossed a judge doesnt release them?

Brian October 25, 2022 (11:09 am)

Super bizarre to be cheering flashbangs going off in your own community but you do you.
- MISRAEL October 25, 2022 (9:27 pm)
  
  If it gets the filth out of the community…why not cheer? But you do you!
- Terry October 26, 2022 (6:59 am)
  
  Better than the alternative…
  - amanda October 26, 2022 (1:52 pm)
    
    Prayers that my husband who had nothing to do with drug trafficking gets released. Sucks they picked up the wrong person and found nothing in our house when they raided it at gunpoint with 3 kids in the house.
- Rhonda October 27, 2022 (9:53 am)
  
  I hope they got the dealer who sold the fentanyl our brother just overdosed on.
jussayin October 25, 2022 (11:38 am)

strange response from you, sillygoose. The article gives no clue as to what the charges are nor who was arrested. Why would you presume anything at this point?
- momosmom October 25, 2022 (12:40 pm)
  
  Do you think the Fed’s and WSP do this just for “sheets and giggles” get a grip.
- KWest Seattle October 25, 2022 (12:41 pm)
  
  Given the nature of the information given in the article, it would be safe for Sillygoose to presume that the charges were for something illegal. And if the arrested individuals are in fact guilty, it would be nice to have them convicted and punished for those crimes. Whatever and whoever it may be.
- Alki resident October 25, 2022 (3:45 pm)
  
  It’s pretty clear someone that’s wanted ,so yes,cheer on Sillygoose. Glad to see the bad guys get locked up.
Jethro Marx October 25, 2022 (12:36 pm)

What are the people you describe as “creeps” accused of? Are they presumed guilty or innocent? Do you care?
- CarDriver October 25, 2022 (1:36 pm)
  
  Jethro Marx. Do you consider them good people and innocent victims of government overreach?
  - Jethro Marx October 25, 2022 (4:25 pm)
    
    No. I don’t know who they are, what they’re charged with, if anything, or what evidence lays against them and how it was procured. You’re reading a lot of your own stuff in to what I wrote, while also replying to my open questions with leading questions.
- Eric1 October 25, 2022 (1:41 pm)
  
  Jethro, if people are arrested, they are presumed guilty of committing a crime. However being convicted of that crime is something totally different. I have been in jury trials and I have stated this clearly and I haven’t been kicked off yet for stating my reasons (I think they have always asked if anyone thinks someone being charged has committed a crime because they have been arrested [my hand goes up]). I qualify this statement by saying that we are in big trouble if the police are simply picking people up off the street and charging them with random crimes. So if there has been an arrest, there has to be reasonable suspicion by officers that a crime has been committed (a presumption of guilt). I think people take innocent until proven guilty a bit too literally, it is not in the constitution and the accused is not necessarily innocent. However presumed innocence is required so they get a fair trial; the prosecution has to convince me beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of a crime given the evidence they have on hand, and that I can deal with. If you get arrested and I end up in your jury pool, feel free to kick me off (it is your right). But yeah, these “creeps” are presumed to be guilty of criminal activity at this time.
  - Jethro Marx October 25, 2022 (4:35 pm)
    
    I don’t think law enforcement takes action like this without a strong suspicion of criminal activity; they typically must also go before a judge to make a case for a warrant. What the warrant service yields is all over the map, but often includes children and various innocent non-creeps who have no connection to or control over the alleged crimes. I think we’re definitely in trouble when people like you and all the other pitchforkers start calling everyone at the address creeps and criminals. You can think what you want, obviously, but I don’t put any more weight in biased nonsense just because it’s written down and smacks of logic to the gullible.
    - WSB October 25, 2022 (4:47 pm)
      
      Jethro has an important point: Even seeing someone in handcuffs doesn’t mean they’ve been arrested. Sometimes police at a scene detain/restrain everyone to keep the situation under control until they sort out who’s who and who allegedly did what.
    - WSEL77 October 25, 2022 (8:47 pm)
      
      @WSB, that wasn’t the point that Jethro Marx was making, and my respect for WSB just cratered for giving them a shoutout. I don’t think you comprehend how consistently dismissive, antagonizing, and hurtful Jethro Marx’s comments are to a lot of people here.
    - Jethro Marx October 26, 2022 (6:43 pm)
      
      Yikes, I’m sorry to hear you feel that way. Definitely not my intent, and while I’m consumed with curiosity as to what you think my point actually was, I’ll just say that you can read the words to their plain meaning, without secret or ulterior motives.
  - Laura October 25, 2022 (11:12 pm)
    
    If you served on a jury and still believe someone is guilty until proven innocent, I weep for the justice system. You’d be grateful to be presumed innocent if you were ever accused of a crime.
- amanda October 26, 2022 (1:54 pm)
  
  Thank you! My husband is innocent and not a creep!
- Saul B Goodman October 26, 2022 (10:55 pm)
  
  Nobody is innocent when the Feds are involved just there involvement speaks volumes on the severity of this situation. 95% conviction rate doesn’t come from false arrests its said to say that 5% chance of innocence is pretty slim and not worth my wager. As long as the government and private industry makes money from crime this will never stop.
Peter October 25, 2022 (1:25 pm)

Silly, you should be aware that a criminal conviction requires evidence, probable cause, arraignment, criminal charges, a trial, a unanimous verdict by a jury, and sentencing by a Judge. People aren’t imprisoned simply because of your vague claims that they’re “creeps.” If you actually have more details, please share.

Lenny909 October 25, 2022 (11:18 am)

Near Riverview?? Can anyone share whereabouts near riverview? I heard nothing

Garruchal October 25, 2022 (11:41 am)

16th Ave SW. The FBI is still there, carrying things out of the house.
- Garruchal October 25, 2022 (12:07 pm)
  
  Ah… I seem to have conflated Riverview and Riverside. 16th Ave SW is in Riverside.
Debbie G October 25, 2022 (1:28 pm)

They were serving on 16th SW, above Global Diving area, off West Marginal.
ALB October 25, 2022 (1:36 pm)

Lenny, Between 0730 and 0800 in the 6500 block of 21st Ave SW. Flashbangs heard after very loud knocking on the door. MANY armed officers – SPD as well as other officers wearing tactical gear and helmets – all with automatic rifles. A bit later FBI agents were also on the scene. Numerous people escorted out of the house and frisked.
- Ex-Westwood Resident October 25, 2022 (3:07 pm)
  
  ALB, how do you know they were “Automatic Rifles”???
- Rhonda October 25, 2022 (7:46 pm)
  
  SPD tactical teams and even FBI SWAT don’t use “automatic rifles”.

jhoff909 October 25, 2022 (11:33 am)

Looking forward to more details. Is this a coordinated drug bust or is it an ICE raid?

WSB October 25, 2022 (11:36 am)

Don’t know. SPD says more info will be coming from the US Attorney’s Office. Sightings included DEA agents; nobody has mentioned immigration.
wsresident October 25, 2022 (12:15 pm)

An ICE raid would only include FBI if there was a terrorist risk. Drugs!
West Seattleite October 25, 2022 (12:51 pm)

Dies it matter?

Marcus October 25, 2022 (11:49 am)

Wow! Get the bad guys! Takes some really hardened criminals to get the feds involved. More than likely some bad actors are now off the streets. Warrants are issued with due process, this is not mistaken identity or any police overreach.

Rhonda October 25, 2022 (12:28 pm)

It’s very comforting to see the feds apprehending and processing our local crooks. I hope they were successful operations.

shotinthefoot October 26, 2022 (3:31 pm)

yeah, because the police are never wrong, and never raid the wrong house or shoot at innocent people while they’re sleeping. That just never happens, right?

Spring October 25, 2022 (12:46 pm)

Why do most covert operations starts at around 5am ish?Is it because we are sleepyhead at that time?

WS Res October 25, 2022 (5:47 pm)

People are likely to be home.
Ferns October 25, 2022 (8:51 pm)

I think there’s some kind of rule about when raids can be conducted. Dawn is the earliest. It would have to be a special circumstance to conduct a raid in the middle of the night, I think. It’s probably just more dangerous for all? If neighbors heard knocking then it wasn’t even a “no knock” raid. So early is just a good time to round people up maybe. Gives them the rest of the day to process the paperwork and the scene.
Mani October 29, 2022 (10:06 pm)

I actually asked some Fed’s one time right after they conducted a raid. Their response? Because you are most likely home and asleep and by the time you are awake enough do pose any kind of threat to our safety we are already on top of you and you’re in handcuffs. Keep in mind a “normal raid” for lack of a better word take about 30-45 seconds from the moment they breach all entrance points up until everyone is in handcuffs. So if you aren’t awake and waiting for them there is no way you’re alert enough to do anything before they reach you.

why October 25, 2022 (3:05 pm)

I hope they charge them with homicide if it’s the people who are supplying fentanyl, killing far too many.

Saul B Goodman October 26, 2022 (11:00 pm)

You would mean eliminating too many of our government officials if that were the case

WSB October 25, 2022 (4:26 pm)

Updated above – full details at a briefing tomorrow but so far they’ve mentioned “more than a dozen arrests” and “more than a thousand pounds of drugs” seized. We heard police-radio traffic indicating arrests/raids outside Seattle, too.

MISRAEL October 25, 2022 (9:47 pm)

1,000 pounds of drugs!!! So all you bleeding hearts can now get real! Not sure if you’re playing devils advocate because you’re bored and have nothing better to do, but keep on supporting the drug rings, the violent offenders, the homeless that destroy our community and steal to support their drug habits…just do it somewhere else. To be clear because the bleeding hearts will get their panties in a bunch, I’m not speaking about the homeless that have managed to avoid being part of the problem with Seattle and are making an effort to get off the streets, off drugs, or both.
- James October 26, 2022 (6:30 am)
  
  Bleeding heart here. The war on drugs is a losing one and I, for one, am tired of it. I would rather decriminalize and regulate all drugs to remove power from drug cartels and their ilk. Yes, all drugs. People are going to do drugs whether or not you like it, so we might as well tax them like alcohol or tobacco and use that money to establish systems that prevent drug overdoses as well as criminal activity.
  - MISRAEL October 26, 2022 (8:40 am)
    
    Well there’s a point of view I can appreciate. I don’t agree because it feels like waving a white flag but…
  - Tired of Delridge October 26, 2022 (12:49 pm)
    
    Decriminalizing drugs will not prevent all criminal activity, as they will still cost money hence people addicted to them , with reduced ability to work, will still resort to crime to pony up their habit.
  - Brian October 26, 2022 (3:44 pm)
    
    100% agree. Nixon’s policy and war on drugs has failed since June 18th 1971. I support decriminalizing and REGULATING safe access, coupled with TREATMENT, not jail time. We don’t jail people addicted to alcohol, we guide them to rehab. It is a medical problem, not a political problem.We need to stop blaming addicts. The black market problem, dangerously laced drugs, and recidivism is a direct cause of the drug war. It has nothing to do with people being “bleeding hearts.” The US has spent an estimated $1 trillion fighting drugs rather than treating the problem. If either party today spent $1 trillion on anything, any program, with this much fallout, the “other side” would rip them to shreds. Why aren’t we challenging this failed system instead of fellow citizens from the opposing political view?Where did this fentanyl come from you ask? It indirectly came from Purdue Pharma and crooked FDA board members. They created this massive opioid crisis. We tried to “fight that war” by restricting access and still treating addiction as a crime. The issue is the problem, addiction and black market sales, didn’t go anywhere. The addicts turned to heroine and other illegal black market drugs. Due to low cost and potency, the cartels have flooded the market with fentanyl, even deadlier than Purdue Pharma’s Oxycontin! Purdue has BARELY even paid the price criminally or monetarily. So naturally who do pissed off citizens and the righteous right blame? They blame the left and the addicts. People, you need to be angry at a crooked and failing system with terrible policy.The right has to stop demonizing addicts, and honestly, even the dealers because when there is a market, people will sell. Take the away the market! If we implemented a complete reversal of the drug war, we shift funds to programs that work. We eliminated the black market and it’s dangerous substances. We safely and sensibly shift people into care that has long-term success. We reduce violent crime, theft, homelessness cause by addition and a failing government. If you want to rid our neighborhoods of this issues , work together. The right needs to admit that Nixon’s program never has and never will work. Until we do that, there will NEVER BE CHANGE!
  - Mani October 29, 2022 (10:08 pm)
    
    Totally agree with you, legalizing all drugs will solve so many problems. And another good thing about that is that the cartels will become obsolete for the most part.
- MomboMan October 26, 2022 (7:26 am)
  
  Well said! One can do drugs and not be a terror to society. These people have been offered help, if they reject it, right to jail!
- WS Res October 26, 2022 (8:52 am)
  
  Your contempt for others simply drips from your comment here, and the one earlier where you refer to people as “filth.”

Richard October 25, 2022 (4:40 pm)

I can’t wait to see the real-life, action videos of these “soft-on-crime” raids appear in Tiffany Smiley’s t.v. ads. Ooops I forgot, that won’t actually support her narrative … my bad.

Chris October 25, 2022 (5:14 pm)

I was running through Riverview Playfield this morning around 5:30 am and saw a bunch of unmarked cars and a van parked in the lot near the playground (12th and Myrtle). I wonder if this location was a a staging area for the raids.

WSeaRes October 25, 2022 (6:06 pm)

If found guilty, lock em all up and throw away the keys! This drug epidemic is fueling the surge in crime across our country and city even in west Seattle. Once we get the dealers arrested and locked up we can focus on getting users admitted for help and it’ll trickle down to less crime overall. Hope judges set bail high in the mean time to keep our streets safe.

Bill October 26, 2022 (12:10 am)

This reads as really shortsighted thinking with a very superficial understanding of the dynamics involved at every layer.
- MISRAEL October 26, 2022 (3:06 am)
  
  Typical! Criticize, insult, or blame community members rather than community offenders. What is your farsighted wisdom Bill given your deep understanding of the dynamics at every layer? Shame on all of you whose first instinct is to defend the criminals, or the targets of the search warrant if that sits better with some of you, rather than those West Seattlelites through experience are just calling it like they see it. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it ain’t a turkey!!!
  - AJ October 26, 2022 (9:41 pm)
    
    Brian’s long comment above is more than a sufficient answer to your question.
- Dito October 26, 2022 (7:40 am)
  
  What Bill said!
WestSeattleGuy October 26, 2022 (12:10 pm)

Yes, throw away the key. Because all the drug use and crime in the world comes from these guys?

asset noodle October 25, 2022 (8:52 pm)

Hells yeah! Now do Ballard!Eat it, drug scum

K October 26, 2022 (3:08 pm)

https://komonews.com/news/local/seattle-police-department-federal-bureau-of-investigations-drug-enforcement-agency-announce-arrests-from-3-drug-trafficking-groups
For everyone speculating on here, this article just came out. It was a cartel bust going after fentanyl.

WSB October 26, 2022 (3:29 pm)

We were at the same briefing and will have our story up shortly, with full video of the briefing/Q&A in case anyone is interested.
- Adam October 26, 2022 (3:54 pm)
  
  Was just reading and thought this might be relatedFBI and DEA seize over 300k fentanyl pills & over 1k pounds of meth in WA and CA https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/fbi-dea-seize-over-300k-fentanyl-pills-over-1k-pounds-meth-wa-ca/GKBIX3COF5BQTPG43ZIREGQRUM
  - WSB October 26, 2022 (5:13 pm)
    
    Same briefing. Citywide media all there too.

bolo October 26, 2022 (4:22 pm)

WOW! 330,000 fentanyl pills! Imagine how big the bottle is!

As I am often in the I.D., it should be easy to see if this has some effect on the street. Judging by users’ behavior. All summer long, until now, easy to see them sprawled out in deep sleep on the sidewalks/bike paths/doorways, nothing covering them. If they are up, they are smoking it out in the open, lighter tinfoil straw.

Not really expecting much change. As even when they got Jung/Pablo/el Chapo/Sackler, others quickly filled the void.

seems reasonable October 26, 2022 (4:45 pm)

Oh maybe I’m way off base, but it seems reasonable (and sensible?) to arrest folks like this? I don’t know how hearts could bleed for them. Perhaps they were just misunderstood, or discriminated against? I don’t understand the end game the drug dealer apologists are going for – it would be interesting to observe (from afar!) I guess? FAR far away.

BruceNorris October 26, 2022 (4:57 pm)

The press release is posted on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington website.I hope the link works:https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/eleven-people-arrested-washington-and-california-connection-cartel-connected-drug

WSB October 26, 2022 (5:08 pm)

It’s also linked in our story about today’s briefing, which is here (with video of the entire briefing)
https://westseattleblog.com/2022/10/video-west-seattle-searches-were-part-of-two-state-operation-targeting-traffickers-blamed-for-staggering-amount-of-fentanyl-meth/

Pable Cruz October 27, 2022 (2:05 pm)

Seattle has already decriminalized hard drug use, and how did that work out? Fentynal addicts EVERYWHERE smoking and injecting their drugs in public, looting our stores, stealing and robbing from citizens to support their habits with NO CONSEQUENCES for their actions. The legalization of all drugs will just create MORE addicts and MORE crime like we see now. Because hard core drug addicts CANNOT hold down a job or function in society, so they will be homeless and committing crimes daily to support their habits, like we see happening now. They should be LOCKED UP for the crimes they commit, and THEN given treatment to get off the drugs. Many, many former drug addicts — myself included — got clean ONLY after going to jail long enough to get their heads straight. In AA and NA it’s what they call “Tough Love”

Bobbie October 27, 2022 (9:47 pm)

Really? Because post prohibition, when alcohol was legalized, there were more alcoholics and more crime? Prior to prohibition, there was no crime involving trafficking alcohol. And wait – legalization of substances CAUSES addiction? And being sent to jail for addiction cures this? Addiction to any substance will occur whether or not something is legal – as evidenced by your own struggles. How about decreasing the demand for drugs by treating the underlying problem…

Sorry, comment time is over.