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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The 55.3 million fatal doses of heroin seized by law enforcement in Tigard last year turned out to be mostly water, according to an independent analysis.
As KOIN 6 News previously reported, federal agents announced the arrest of four Mexican drug traffickers after they were caught transporting eight 55-gallon drums of a liquid narcotic in Tigard in January 2024.
Originally, law enforcement believed the substance to be liquid fentanyl. Field tests later showed that seven of the eight drums contained heroin, according to court documents obtained by KOIN 6 News.
Investigators said they believed the containers held 1,430 liters, weighing 1.4 metric tons, of liquid heroin. The government characterized the drug seizure as “truly an astronomical amount,” and heralded the mission as historic and unprecedented. They said that combined, they had recovered 55.3 million fatal doses.
But while the contents tested positive for heroin, no test was conducted to determine the concentration of heroin in the liquid. An independent analysis, later requested by the defense attorney, found that the drums were mostly water.
“Recovery of usable heroin would require the evaporation of the water,” the report said. “There is approximately 390 gallons of water in the seven drums, which contain heroin. Therefore, the small amount of heroin dissolved in the water in each drum makes the recovery of usable solid heroin impractical.”
The total combined heroin in the eight drums was between 22.1 and 25.3 grams, the report said.
The drums contained 99.999% water and 0.001% of unusable heroin, the defense attorney said in a sentencing memorandum.
Luis Deleon Woodward, 28, pled guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute heroin on July 30. He has been in custody since his arrest in January 2024. Though undocumented, he has lived in Yakima since he was 6.
In the sentencing memo, the government argued that regardless of how diluted the barrels were, the defendant still engaged in a conspiracy that was designed to transport and distribute heroin.
Attorney Casey Kovacic, who defended Woodward, told KOIN 6 News that his client was immediately handed over to ICE following his sentencing hearing on Sept. 4. He said that he may have already been deported.
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office said they cannot comment on pending litigation.
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Amanda Rhoades
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