Major Seattle area fentanyl distributor from The Gambia sentenced to 6 years in prison

A significant fentanyl distributor tied to a Seattle-area drug trafficking organization has been sentenced to six years in federal prison, according to federal prosecutors. Lamin Saho, 40, of Everett, known as “Buck,” was sentenced Monday in US District Court in Seattle. Prosecutors said Saho was a high-volume fentanyl dealer identified through a wiretap investigation that led to 14 arrests in October 2024 and five additional arrests in late 2025.

Authorities said the trafficking ring operated from Kent to Everett and regularly used two distribution locations in Seattle’s University District. Investigators also reported that many members of the group were armed while guarding drugs or selling them. The organization’s leader was shot and killed in the summer of 2024 outside one of the University District locations, prosecutors said.

During the investigation, wiretaps indicated Saho distributed thousands of fentanyl pills and at times had access to as many as 10,000 pills at once. Prosecutors said he continued dealing even after law enforcement seized 5,000 pills from him during a traffic stop. During the year long investigation, law enforcement seized about 200,000 fentanyl pills, four kilograms of cocaine, 60 firearms, multiple Glock “switches,” several suppressors, and roughly $250,000 in suspected drug proceeds.

Saho was ordered to serve four years of supervised release after completing his prison term. Prosecutors said he is a citizen of The Gambia without U.S. immigration status and is likely to be removed from the country after serving his sentence.

Several other members of the fentanyl trafficking conspiracy have already been sentenced in federal court, with prison terms ranging from four to ten years depending on their roles in the organization. Cooper Sherman, 28, of Seattle, known as “Coop,” was identified by prosecutors as one of the leaders of the organization. In November 2025, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Khaliil Ahmed, 28, of Kent, also known as “Bossup,” was sentenced in August 2025 to six years in prison for two counts of illegally possessing firearms. Prosecutors said Ahmed was involved in the drug trafficking conspiracy and noted that he was injured during a fatal shooting at a South Seattle hookah bar on August 20, 2023.

Another co-defendant, Yohannes Wondimagegnehu, 36, of Seattle, known as “Jon,” received a six-year prison sentence in August 2025. Prosecutors said Wondimagegnehu helped staff an apartment near the University District that was used as a primary drug distribution site and possessed a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

Dominique Sanders, 35, of Everett, was sentenced in September 2025 to six years in prison for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. Prosecutors described Sanders as a redistributor who helped move fentanyl throughout the region.

In December 2025, Jaquan Means, 46, of Bellevue, was sentenced to six years in prison for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. Prosecutors said Means brokered at least two fentanyl transactions during the course of the investigation.

Oche Poston, 32, of Everett, received a five-and-a-half-year prison sentence in September 2025. Prosecutors said Poston served as a runner for multiple fentanyl transactions and carried out tasks at the direction of higher-ranking members of the organization.

Patrick Smith, 28, of Seattle, was sentenced in August 2025 to four years in prison for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. Prosecutors described him as a redistributor within the trafficking network.

Anteneh Tesfaye, 41, of Edmonds, was sentenced in December 2025 to four years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm. Prosecutors said Tesfaye redistributed drugs supplied by one of the organization’s leaders.