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In July, the Westside Interagency Narcotics Team (WIN) received a tip about a large amount of fentanyl being smuggled into the Portland Metro area by an individual out of Oakland, California. The Alameda County Narcotics Task Force (ACNTF) determined the fentanyl was heading for the Portland Metro area and contacted WIN.
WIN Team investigators, assisted by Portland Police Buearu’s Narcotics and Organized Crime Division(NOC), located a vehicle they believed contained the large quantity of fentanyl parked near the 1300 block of SW Park Avenue. Jorge J. Alas-Avila was in the vehicle when investigators approached it and was eventually detained. Investigators quickly learned Alas-Avila was wanted for a felony warrant related to narcotics.
With the help of the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, investigators applied for a search warrant for the vehicle, which was granted. During the search of the vehicle, investigators located approximately 40,000 fentanyl pills and 18.4 pounds of powdered fentanyl. The total weight of narcotics seized was 28 pounds, and is the largest fentanyl seizure in the history of the WIN team.
The seized fentanyl is valued at $600,000 and contains 3.5 million lethal doses.
The WIN Team worked closely with the Portland Police Bureau, the US Attorney's Office in Portland, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, and task force members from the Alameda County Narcotics Task Force (ACNTF) during the investigation.