This story was originally posted to MyNorthwest.com
A Tukwila man was sentenced for his role in a drug ring tied to an Aryan prison gang.
Anthony Escoto, a 52-year-old “prolific drug distributor,” will spend 10 years in prison for his crimes, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington issued Friday.
Tukwila man indicted in 2-year-long drug trafficking investigation
Escoto was indicted in connection with a two-year-long investigation into drug trafficking organizations linked to the Aryan Family and Omerta prison gangs.
Escoto was repeatedly heard on wiretap ordering pound quantities of methamphetamine and thousands of fentanyl pills for distribution, according to records filed in the case.
“Controlled substances cause a huge amount of damage — the damage is not just to the individual but also to the community,” Chief U.S. District Judge David G. Estudillo said at the sentencing hearing.
After one drug deal, the car Escoto was riding in was stopped by police. The co-defendant driving Escoto claimed the drugs were his, but investigators had heard Escoto over the wiretap and knew the drugs belonged to him.
Authorities found more methamphetamine and two firearms, a shotgun and an SKS rifle, in Escoto’s home on March 22, 2023. Escoto was already a felon and was prohibited from possessing firearms.
Escoto denies being a member of the Aryan prison gang but has multiple neo-Nazi tattoos and was previously charged with assault for biting a prison guard while yelling racial slurs, the attorney’s office stated.
Escoto has a criminal history spanning more than three decades with convictions for aggravated assault, identity theft, drug trafficking, assault with a deadly weapon, obstruction of justice, and domestic assault.
Tukwila man pleads guilty in April 2025
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime on April 22, 2025.
Law enforcement made two dozen arrests on March 22, 2023, involving 10 SWAT teams and more than 350 law enforcement officers, according to the attorney’s office.
Officers seized 177 firearms, more than 10 kilos of methamphetamine, 11 kilograms of fentanyl pills, more than a kilo of fentanyl powder, 3 kilos of heroin, and more than $330,000 in cash from 18 locations in Washington and Arizona.
That is in addition to the 830,000 fentanyl pills, 5.5 pounds of fentanyl powder, 223 pounds of methamphetamine, 3.5 pounds of heroin, 5 pounds of cocaine, $388,000 in cash, and 48 firearms officers seized earlier in the investigation.
Along with 10 years in prison, Escoto was ordered to five years of federal supervised release.
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