Mexican National Sentenced in Oroville Drug Trafficking Bust

A Mexican national who supervised a drug trafficking organization operating in Oroville, Washington received his sentencing today.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office - Eastern District of Washington, 35-year-old Erubey Arciga Medrano of Michoacan, Mexico, receives 15 years in prison on drug trafficking charges.

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In April 2023, authorities executed a series of federal search warrants at a number of homes in Okanogan County near Oroville. They discovered 161,000 fentanyl-laced pills, approximately 80 pounds of methamphetamine, approximately six pounds of heroin, and more than two pounds of cocaine. Investigators also seized 12 firearms.

"Many of these drugs were destined for Native American communities, including in Eastern Washington and Montana," said Acting United States Attorney Richard Barker. "I am confident that lives were saved as a result of the incredible work that was done in this case."

Medrano also has five years of supervised release after the completion of his prison term.

In January 2023, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) identified Medrano as the leader of a drug trafficking organization flooding portions of the Eastern District of Washington, including Oroville and the Colville Indian Reservation, with fentanyl and methamphetamine.

Between January and March 2023, BIA and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Washington State law enforcement and Colville Tribal law enforcement conducted a series of controlled drug buys from Medrano and others selling drugs on his behalf.