Eleven individuals were arrested in and around downtown Bellingham on Tuesday on drug delivery charges, following an investigation by the Whatcom Gang and Drug Task Force (WGDTF), according to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.
The arrests came after a two-month investigation into street-level drug dealers in the downtown business district, prompted by numerous complaints of open-air drug use, drug sales, and other criminal activity.
According to investigators, the probe identified Satan Nehtah Wey as a primary source of illegal drug sales, operating out of a small RV parked along the 100 block of East Magnolia Street.
In December, investigators executed a search warrant on Nehtah Wey’s RV, where they found over 100 small packages of suspected fentanyl, packaged for street-level sales and weighing approximately 226 grams, along with smaller amounts of methamphetamine, fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycontin pills, Suboxone strips, psilocybin mushrooms, and over $4,000 in cash believed to be drug proceeds.
Throughout the investigation, undercover detectives purchased fentanyl and methamphetamine from Nehtah Wey and his associates approximately 24 times.
Investigators observed Nehtah Wey using other individuals to facilitate his sales.
On January 7, officers from the Bellingham Police Department and the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office arrested Nehtah Wey and ten other individuals for probable cause related to the investigation.
Nehtah Wey faces six counts of delivery of methamphetamine, three counts of delivery of fentanyl, possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine and fentanyl, and leading organized crime.
Other individuals arrested were: Alvin Godette (48), Dakota Boome (36), Gabriel Brummel (35), Jean Cooper (27), James George (31), Alexander Gott (22), Benjamin Imhoff (26), Chace Justice (34), Christopher Mayse (35), and Jana Quinton (45). All are facing charges for drug delivery, according to authorities.
More arrests are anticipated, stated authorities.
While the WGDTF often focuses on larger-scale drug trafficking, they made the decision to target street-level dealers due to the fentanyl crisis.
Both Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu and Bellingham Mayor Kim Lund have identified the fentanyl crisis as a top concern.
“Fentanyl is deadly and devastating,” said Lt. Keith Linderman of the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office. “Protecting our community from those who sell, and profit from, fentanyl means deploying vital resources like our Gang and Drug Task Force.”