Multi-agency sweep leads to 5 arrests in major Whatcom Co. drug bust; other suspects at large

A law enforcement investigation has led to the arrest of five individuals in Whatcom County with suspected connections to a Mexican drug trafficking organization. Investigators are on the lookout for three more individuals.

The Whatcom Gang and Drug Task Force led the investigation, which concluded when law enforcement served search warrants on the 6000 block of Neevel Road east of Ferndale and the 5300 block of Guide Meridian in Bellingham. Two vehicles also were searched.

The warrants led to the seizure of 3.24 pounds of suspected fentanyl powder and $6,000 in cash. Authorities also discovered an illegal sawed-off shotgun, multiple cell phones, small plastic bags, a scale with residue, and shotgun shells, according to a news release from the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Department. The news release also mentioned investigators found “suspected drug ledger notes.”

Authorities arrested Victor Alcala Arellanes, 35, Jesus Garcia Covarrubias, 24, Carlos Ramos Navarrette, 23, and Carlos Monreal Ceballos, 29. Theron Chin, 48, of Bellingham, who was in custody as the warrants were served, faces two counts of possession with intent to deliver as a result of Friday’s investigations.

Ceballos, Navarrette and Covarrubias were all arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to deliver, delivery of a controlled substance, unlawful firearm (sawed -off shotgun) and alien in possession of a firearm. Arellanes was arrested for possession with intent to deliver and two counts of delivery of a controlled substance.

Law enforcement became suspicious after reports of increased opioid usage and overdoses in Bellingham since the start of the year. According to Whatcom County, the amount of overdose-related calls between January and March in the downtown Bellingham business district increased from 24 in 2023 to 63 so far this year.