A 35-year-old former Portland resident who ran a large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering operation in Oregon, Washington, and elsewhere has been sentenced to 11 years and three months in federal prison.
Luis Antonio Beltran Arredondo admitted to distributing large quantities of fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills, heroin, and methamphetamine while laundering millions of dollars in criminal revenues through a beauty salon and real estate investments.
Related posts
Federal prosecutors stated that Beltran Arredondo and his girlfriend, Jaqueline Paola Rodrigues Barrientos, smuggled millions of dollars through Tualatin’s Mazatlán Beauty Salon. The salon continued to serve as a front for laundering cocaine proceeds even after its closure.
In 2021, Rodrigues Barrientos transferred more than $3.5 million in cocaine earnings into the salon’s accounts.
Prosecutors claim that Beltran Arredondo entered the United States illegally following his previous deportation. By the time of his arrest, he had relocated to Las Vegas and was under bond for unrelated felony narcotics charges from California.
“I realize the harm to society that has been caused by this crime,” he told U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon at sentencing. “There’s no way to justify my actions.”
The case resulted from a combined investigation begun by the DEA in Portland in October 2021, with assistance from the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Oregon State Police, Tigard Police, and the IRS.
Investigators wiretapped Beltran Arredondo’s phone and intercepted his conversations with two distributors. From late 2021 to early 2022, police enforcement confiscated:
- 41 pounds of methamphetamine
- 26 kilograms of heroin
- 115,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl
- $348,000 in cash
During the operation, prosecutors allege that the organization trafficked more than 100,000 fentanyl-laced pills into Oregon and Washington.
Beltran Arredondo pleaded guilty in June 2025 to conspiring to distribute heroin and fentanyl, as well as conspiracy to launder money. He was the final defendant sentenced out of the twelve indicted in the case.
Assistant US Attorney Peter Sax requested a slightly longer term of 11 years and 8 months, claiming that Beltran Arredondo’s enterprise made him “a millionaire many times over” at its peak.
Michele Kohler, the defense counsel, proposed a 10-year sentence based on her client’s cooperation, guilty plea, and personal circumstances. She claimed he had just two key customers, who largely transported heroin, and was already facing significant punishment due to the seizure of his real estate assets.
Kohler also revealed his background: his father was murdered when he was 16, he worked two jobs while attending Tualatin High School, and he initially opposed joining the drug trade before being “worn down.”
Beltran Arredondo expressed responsibility for using family members in money laundering activities, stating he felt a “great sense of guilt” for employing his wife and her nephew to conceal drug profits.
His attorney informed the court that while incarcerated, he intends to seek a GED credential and acquire a trade, preparing for a life outside of crime whenever he is deported back to Mexico after serving his term.
