WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. — 6 people have been arrested and charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute other charges following a Whatcom Gang and Drug Task Force investigation into their activities since November 2022.
According to court documents in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle, Robel Sisay Gebremedhin (aka Gebremedhui), Mohamed Abdirisak Mohamed, Ahbdurman Ahmed, Daniel John Faix, Natasha Parkhill and Matthew Anderson now face federal charges related to their alleged involvement in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute. Gebremedhin and Mohamed also face charges of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. The case was filed on March 30th.
Court documents said that a Washington State Patrol trooper stopped a vehicle for reckless driving on November 28, 2022. The driver was identified as Mohamed. Approximately $1,700 in currency was located in his pocket at the time. A narcotics detection canine alerted to the odor of narcotics in the vehicle and the vehicle was seized pending a search warrant. Troopers later served a Washington state search warrant on the vehicle and located approximately 4,000 suspected fentanyl-laced pills, drug packaging material and a stolen firearm.
In the months that followed, investigators conducted both electronic and physical surveillance on Mohamed’s activities. Investigators report evidence that he was part of the larger group of individuals from the greater Seattle area who were trafficking fentanyl in Whatcom County. Ahmed was identified as a suspected co-conspirator and Gebremedhin as a suspected drug distributor.