Leader of Local Drug Trafficking Organization Pleads Guilty

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Mexican national residing in Oregon City, Oregon pleaded guilty today for his leadership role in a conspiracy to traffic large quantities of methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl from Mexico for resale in Oregon and Washington State.

Victor Alvarez Farfan, 49, pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and distribute controlled substances and illegal reentry. 

Farfan is the last of 23 defendants charged in the conspiracy to plead guilty. This is Farfan’s second federal conviction in the District of Oregon for drug trafficking and illegal reentry.

According to court documents, Farfan received approximately 20 kilograms of methamphetamine, half a kilogram of heroin and two kilograms of fentanyl from a drug cartel based in Michoacan, Mexico. He and his associates would then resell the methamphetamine and heroin in Hillsboro, Gresham, Portland and Hood River, Oregon, and Tacoma, Washington. Farfan also oversaw the manufacturing of crystal methamphetamine from its liquid form. As part of the conspiracy, one of Farfan’s co-conspirators, Eduardo Alvarez Farfan, 27, of Gresham, provided the two kilograms of fentanyl to a co-conspirator, Noe Antonio Machado-Madrano, 26, who had flown in from Baltimore, Maryland. Investigators arrested Machado-Madrano at a bus station and seized the fentanyl.

On October 17, 2018, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a nine-count indictment charging Farfan and 21 co-defendants with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and distribute methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine; use of a communication facility, including cellular telephones, in the commission of a controlled substances felony; maintaining drug-involved premises to manufacture and distribute controlled substances; interstate distribution of drug proceeds and money laundering.

On October 24, 2018, a coordinated law enforcement operation led by the FBI with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, the Westside Interagency Narcotics (WIN) Task Force and the Clackamas County Interagency Task Force (CCITF) resulted in the arrest of Farfan and 17 co-defendants.

Later, on November 27, 2018, Farfan was charged in a second indictment with illegal reentry.

Farfan faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence and a fine of $10 million or twice the gross gains or losses resulting from his offense. With Farfan’s continued acceptance of responsibility, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will recommend a sentence of 180 months in federal prison when he is sentenced on February 15, 2022 before U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon.

As part of the plea agreement, Farfan has agreed to forfeit any criminally-derived proceeds and property used to facilitate his crimes identified by the government prior to sentencing and pay $100,000 to satisfy a forfeiture money judgment.

Acting U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.

This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon and is the result of a joint investigation by FBI, HSI, WIN, and CCITF. Forfeiture was litigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office Asset Recovery and Money Laundering Division. 

WIN includes representatives from the Washington County Sheriff's Office, the Beaverton Police Department, the Hillsboro Police Department, the Tigard Police Department, the Oregon National Guard Counterdrug Program, and the FBI. CCITF includes representatives from the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, Clackamas County Community Corrections, Oregon City Police Department, Canby Police Department, FBI and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.