Man tied to Portland drug trafficking sentenced

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A 53-year-old man from Mexico has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for his role in a complex money laundering scheme linked to the fashion district in Los Angeles.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Esteban Guillen Ramirez was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Portland after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

In 2015, agents arrested over 20 suspected heroin drug-traffickers after executing search warrants throughout Portland and Vancouver, Washington. They seized heroin and over $400,000 in cash.

Investigators found bank deposit slips and deposit instructions, and discovered that heroin traffickers were depositing drug proceeds into wholesale businesses in the Los Angeles fashion district to avoid detection.

In July 2018, federal agents arrested Guillen Ramirez in Las Vegas. Five Los Angeles wholesale business owners and one former chief executive officer previously pleaded guilty to money laundering and other tax-related crimes.