Federal prosecutors charged a Portland man last week in what officials say could be among the biggest fentanyl busts in Oregon history.
Jothan Paul Barrios-Chable, 20, had about 127 pounds of fentanyl in his car when police stopped him in Klamath County on Nov. 8, according to the criminal complaint filed in federal court.
He has been charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, records show.
The case started when the Medford Area Drug and Gang Enforcement Team learned that someone would be driving from California through Oregon with a lot of fentanyl around 4 p.m. in a gray Nissan Rogue with a temporary license plate, court records show. That day, police spotted what they believed could be the car, headed north on Route 97.
Barrios-Chable was going about 10 miles over the speed limit, according to court records, and a Medford police officer pulled him over just south of Collier Memorial State Park. With the help of a police dog, police found about 127 pounds of fentanyl, including packaging, in powder and pill form — as well as a pistol — in the car.
“It’s safe to say it was among the largest seizures of fentanyl in Oregon history,” Oregon U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesperson Kevin Sonoff said in an email.
In an interview with law enforcement, Barrios-Chable allegedly said that he gets paid about $5,000 to $6,000 per trip to deliver narcotics and that he lives out of hotels in the Portland area. Barrios-Chable is a Mexican citizen, according to Border Patrol information cited in court records. According to court records, he tried to enter the United States illegally in August and returned to Mexico voluntarily.
Do you know something about this case? Get in touch.
— Fedor Zarkhin
Office: 503-294-7674; Cell: 971-373-2905; fzarkhin@oregonian.com