A man was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison on Tuesday after stowing 384 pounds of methamphetamine in an Oregon storage unit, the largest single seizure of the narcotic in state history.
Despite a prior federal drug conviction, Martin Manzo Negrete continued to sell pounds of the narcotic to street traffickers in the Eugene-Springfield area, according to Assistant United States Attorney William McLaren.
“This was an absolutely astonishing quantity of narcotics — hundreds of pounds in a single place is incredibly rare,” McLaren said.
Manzo Negrete was arrested in late 2020 after the Drug Enforcement Administration and Eugene police conducted a combined investigation.
Manzo Negrete lived in a flat on Jefferson Street in Eugene and served as a “middleman” by storing drugs obtained from a Mexican source, according to McLaren.
A DEA source identified Manzo Negrete, prompting investigators to set up surveillance on him and his white 2009 BMW, according to a court affidavit.
Manzo Negrete normally sold a pound for $4,000, although he frequently fronted the heroin to his distributors with the expectation of being reimbursed once the drug was sold, according to McLaren.
In September 2021, detectives searched Manzo Negrete’s home and a storage facility in Eugene.
In the storage unit, they uncovered totes containing 384 pounds of methamphetamine wrapped in plastic bags—the “largest stock that Oregon investigators have ever discovered,” McLaren wrote in a sentencing report. Investigators also found several firearms in the unit.
Investigators seized additional firearms, pounds of methamphetamine, scales, narcotics packing equipment, cash, and wire transfer receipts to Mexico from his apartment, according to McLaren.
According to records, investigators confiscated seven weapons.
In March, Manzo Negrete pled guilty to conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
Five other members of the same trafficking ring had already pleaded guilty and received sentences ranging from five years’ probation to three years and five months in prison. Their drug trafficking took place between October 2020 and October 2021, according to federal court documents.
Manzo Negrete was sentenced to 14 years in prison after being convicted in federal court in Eugene in 2006 of conspiracy to possess 21 pounds or more of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
Defense attorney Marc P. Friedman stated that Manzo Negrete made terrible decisions to maintain his family but “fully acknowledges his role” in the case.
He arrived in the United States at the age of 14, married, and established a family two years later. He first launched a landscaping business with his wife in California, then in Oregon. He and his wife returned to Mexico after one of their children died but separated a year later when they returned to America.
“I accept full responsibility…” “I regret what I did, believe me,” Manzo Negrete, 51, told U.S. District Judge Michael J. McShane. “I am going to do the time. I am accountable. I understand that the responsibility lies with me, so I am not affected by your actions. My young boy, as well as his mother, will face difficulties.”
McShane said he couldn’t imagine what 384 pounds of the medication looked like, noting that he aches his back merely bringing a 50-pound bag of food to the chicken feeder he owns.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” the judge remarked.
While McShane acknowledged Manzo Negrete’s problems, including a lack of education and the need to support his now-ex-wife and their 6-year-old son, the judge emphasized the importance of recognizing the devastation his methamphetamine use brings to families.
Manzo Negrete will be deported after completing his prison sentence.
“It’s time for you to retire to Jalisco for a boring life,” McShane told him.
However, the judge made one final offer to Manzo Negrete.
“If your son needs anything … write to me, and I’ll help him,” she said. “Send me a letter outlining the necessary actions.” We don’t want the children to suffer.