PORTLAND, Ore. — A Portland man has been sentenced to a decade in federal prison for his involvement in an interstate drug trafficking organization operating between California and Oregon.
Luis Garcia Zurita, 38, was sentenced Wednesday to 120 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
According to court documents, Garcia Zurita served as both an interstate drug transporter and a local distributor for a Mexico-based drug trafficking organization with operations in Portland.
In June 2024, investigators used a confidential informant to arrange a controlled purchase of cocaine from Garcia Zurita. Authorities monitored a Dodge Ram used to deliver the drugs, which was registered in his name.
Two months later, in August 2024, investigators observed the same vehicle travel to Los Angeles, California, where it remained for only a few hours before returning to Oregon—behavior consistent with a narcotics resupply trip, officials said.
Shortly after the vehicle returned, law enforcement officers arrested Garcia Zurita as he was leaving a restaurant. At the time of his arrest, he was found carrying more than $4,000 in cash and the keys to the Dodge Ram.
A subsequent search of the vehicle, authorized by a warrant, revealed a hidden compartment containing 4,345 grams of fentanyl pills and 2,015 grams of cocaine.
On March 5, 2025, a federal grand jury in Portland indicted Garcia Zurita on two counts: possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
Garcia Zurita later pleaded guilty on December 1, 2025, to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul T. Maloney prosecuted the case.
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