Investigators determined that Duran Aldaco, also known as Jay Thrax, coordinated the movement of narcotics and worked with both charged and uncharged co-conspirators to distribute the drugs throughout western Washington. The investigation began in December 2022 when the Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI identified Duran Aldaco as a large-scale fentanyl distributor. In November 2023, Oregon troopers again stopped a vehicle and recovered 15 kilograms of methamphetamine and 30 kilograms of fentanyl pills. In April of that year, Portland police recovered 7.5 kilograms of fentanyl pills abandoned at a bus station by an associate of Duran Aldaco. The primary indictment charged Duran Aldaco, then 23, and nine others with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.