One of the Pacific Northwest’s Most Wanted fugitives was arrested
yesterday in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico by Mexican law enforcement
authorities based on information developed by the Pacific Northwest
Fugitive Apprehension Task Force (PNWFAT). Jeffery Jay Warren, age
57, was wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Drug Enforcement
Agency on a thirty count indictment for Conspiracy to Import and
Distribute Hashish, the Importation and Distribution of Hashish,
Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering and Money Laundering.
In 1994, the Drug Enforcement Administration in Portland, Oregon and
the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Western Washington indicted Warren and
fifteen other individuals with operating a large smuggling operation
where hashish and marijuana were smuggled into the United States by
ship, F/V Kila Kila. A major seizure of 50,000 pounds of hashish
contributed to the indictments.
Of the original sixteen defendants, Warren and three others have
remained fugitives since 1994. Living the life of leisure in
Mexico, and believed to have traveled extensively worldwide, Warren
thought he had managed to create a new life and new identity. PNWFAT
investigators have worked diligently for years in an attempt to
locate Warren and the other fugitives in this large smuggling case,
and it was long believed that Warren was residing in Mexico. A
provisional warrant for Warren’s arrest had been issued in Mexico in
1998.
Recent information developed by the PNWFAT led to a potential
address and identity for Warren in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. A
collateral lead was sent to the U.S. Marshal’s office at the
American Embassy in Mexico City who began working closely with their
Mexican law enforcement counterparts to locate and apprehend Warren.
At approximately 3:00 AM on March 28th Warren was arrested by
Mexican authorities as he returned to his residence in Puerto
Vallarta.
“Persistency and patience have paid off in a big way”, said Acting
U.S. Marshal David Miller, in
announcing the arrest of Warren. “The arrest of drug smuggler
Jeffrey Warren in Mexico after more than 12 years on the run once
again proves that U.S. Marshals will never give up in the pursuit of
their fugitive.” Warren is currently in custody in Mexico
pending extradition proceedings to the United States while the hunt
for the remaining three fugitives continues.
The PNWFAT is a U.S. Marshals-sponsored partnership comprised of
investigators from the King County Sheriffs Office, Seattle Police
Department, Washington State Department of Corrections, Washington
State Patrol, the U.S. Social Security Administration OIG and the
U.S. Marshals Service. The Task Force is supported by the Project
Safe Neighborhoods Initiative and was formed to concentrate
apprehension efforts to remove federal, state and local fugitives
from the streets. The Task Force objective is to disrupt illegal
gang, gun and drug activity in the Pacific Northwest and to reduce
the amount of violence in the region.
For a copy of the U.S. Marshals Service wanted poster of this
fugitive and additional information on other major case fugitives,
go to the U.S. Marshals Service’s website at
www.usmarshals.gov or
U.S. Marshal’s Western Washington website at
http://www.usmarshals.gov/district/wa-w/index.html. For
additional information on the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN)
Initiative, go to the PSN website at
www.psn.gov.
For information on the apprehension, call Acting U.S. Marshal David
Miller at 206-370-8602; for
information on the criminal case, call the United States Attorney’s
Office at 206-553-7970.
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