Alleged Fentanyl Trafficker Extradited from Honduras to the United States to Face Federal Charges

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Honduran national under federal indictment for conspiring with others to distribute fentanyl was extradited from Honduras to the United States this week to face charges in the District of Oregon.

Orbin Alfredo Velasquez Layaire, 38, has been charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.

According to court documents, in September 2022, as part of an ongoing drug trafficking investigation, special agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) learned that Velasquez was actively involved in distributing fentanyl in Oregon. Investigators soon learned that Velasquez ran a dispatch-style organization that received and processed drug orders from customers in and around Portland.

In early 2023, investigators learned Velasquez had fled to Honduras. On November 15, 2023, a federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment charging Velasquez with conspiring to distribute fentanyl.

On June 13, 2024, Velasquez was arrested in Honduras. On August 6, 2024, he was extradited to the United States.

Velasquez made his initial appearance in federal court today before a U.S. Magistrate Judge. He was arraigned, pleaded not guilty, and ordered detained pending a 5-day jury trial scheduled to begin on October 8, 2024.

This case was investigated by DEA with assistance from the DEA Tegucigalpa, Honduras Country Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle Field Office. It is being prosecuted by Paul T. Maloney, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Honduran authorities to secure Velasquez’s arrest and extradition.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.