Two Honduran nationals unlawfully residing in Oregon are facing federal drug trafficking charges after authorities seized over 3,000 grams of fentanyl in two separate cases in Portland.
Omar Rodriguez-Salgado, 28, and Cesar Antonio Gutierrez-Doblado, 19, were both arrested on September 18 and later appeared in federal court. Each has been charged with possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, according to court documents.
Rodriguez-Salgado was seen leaving a known drug trafficking meeting point in Portland. When law enforcement attempted to pull him over, he failed to stop initially. After officers managed to pull him over, they discovered a backpack in his vehicle containing 29 individually packaged bags of suspected fentanyl, totaling 274.4 grams. They also recovered packaging materials, rubber bands, a digital scale, and three cell phones. Rodriguez stated that one phone was his personal device and the other two were for work.
On the same day, during an undercover operation targeting fentanyl distribution in East Portland, an officer arranged to buy half an ounce of fentanyl from Gutierrez-Doblado via text. After providing an address for the meetup, Gutierrez was observed getting into a vehicle and driving to the location, where he was arrested upon arrival.
Gutierrez consented to a search of both his vehicle and apartment. Officers found 42.7 grams of fentanyl on his person and 8.3 grams in the vehicle’s center console. In the backseat, they discovered 572.8 grams in four baggies inside an Apple Store bag. A subsequent search of his apartment led to the seizure of 2,401.6 grams of suspected fentanyl and $85,365 in cash, along with additional equipment used for drug processing.
In total, authorities recovered 3,025.4 grams of suspected fentanyl tied to Gutierrez alone.
Both men are currently in custody and are scheduled to be arraigned on October 22.
