Narcotics Task Force

Mission
The mission of the South Snohomish County Narcotics Task Force is to target drug violators having impact on the communities of Edmonds, Lynnwood, and Mountlake Terrace; and to reduce drug availability through professional investigation, apprehension, and conviction of drug traffickers thereby improving the quality of life in south Snohomish County.

Personnel
Authorized staffing for the task force is one Lynnwood sergeant and one rotating sergeant (every three years between each of the member agencies) as well as four Lynnwood detectives, and one detective each from the cities of Edmonds and Mountlake Terrace.

Accomplishments
In 2009, the SSCNTF invested a considerable amount of investigative time in preparation for Operation Coronado – a nationwide investigation of narcotic conspirators connected to the “La Familia” cartel. This takedown was the single largest coordinated investigation of a Mexican drug cartel in the history of the United States.

The SSCNTF portion of this investigation started in January, 2009. The suspect, who turned out to be the top member in Washington, was directly involved with several co-conspirators located in Oregon, California, Arizona and Mexico who were responsible for transporting large amounts of methamphetamine and cocaine from California to the greater Puget Sound region for local distribution. After several undercover purchases of narcotics from this target, the SSCNTF joined forces with the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Monroe Police Department, and Northwest HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) in July to further the scope of the investigation.

As part of this investigation, a Lynnwood Detective was the co-case agent and author of a federal Title III telephone intercept affidavit which was a key component of this investigation. The participation of the South Snohomish County Narcotics Task Force in Operation Coronado culminated in October 2009 and resulted in 21 federal indictments, the seizure of over 24 pounds of cocaine, 28 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, 13 vehicles, seven guns, and several hundred thousand dollars of cash and real property.

During the above investigation, the task force continued to investigate other narcotics traffickers throughout the south Snohomish County area. This included several full-scale indoor marijuana cultivation operations, which netted approximately 1,024 marijuana plants and 17 pounds of processed marijuana. In one case, the suspect was armed with two handguns at the time of his arrest.

The SSCNTF also investigated approximately 18 cases involving the illegal diversion of prescription narcotics (mostly Oxycodone). In one investigation, the task force interdicted the illegal sale of a thousand pills of Oxycontin®, which has a potential street value of $80,000 dollars.

In April 2009, the task force began an investigation into a local drug trafficking organization involved in the distribution of both powder and crack cocaine. They conducted several undercover purchases from suspects within this organization and are currently working with the DEA to further the scope of this investigation.

In November, the SSCNTF assisted the Edmonds Police Department with a burglary investigation involving the theft of several firearms from a residence. The investigation led to a search warrant that resulted in the recovery of eight firearms (including one stolen firearm) and approximately $13,000 dollars of illegal proceeds.

Asset Seizure	2008	2009	% Change
Cash	$42,466	$300,850	608%
Vehicles	10	22	120%
Guns	2	17	750%
Real Property	$63,000	$250,000	297%

As illustrated by the previous statistics the task force dramatically increased asset seizures (cash, vehicles, guns, and other real property), and the quantity of cocaine, methamphetamine and diverted pharmaceuticals (Oxycodone) in 2009 as compared to the prior year. This was in large part due to the joint investigation the task force conducted into the major drug trafficking organization highlighted above, however, this same investigation led to slight reductions in overall case activity as indicated in the chart below due to the intensiveness of the investigation.

Narcotics Seizures	2008	2009	% Change
Marijuana (plants)	2,389	1,224	-49%
Ecstasy (pills)	1,624	109	-93%
LSD (hits)	2,636.30	0	-100%
RX (tab/ampoule)	848.5	2,021	138%
	weight listed in grams
Marijuana Processed	5,774	9,432	63%
Cocaine	678	11,462	1590%
Crack Cocaine	24	41	69%
Methamphetamine	1,036	15,836	1429%
Heroin	316	87	-72%