‘A Consistent Cycle’: Drug distribution in the wake of Eugene drug bust

Two hundred and sixty pounds of methamphetamine, 16 pounds of heroin and six pounds of fentanyl were among the many items seized in a drug bust that took place in Eugene, federal prosecutors announced on Oct. 29. The bust was coordinated by many enforcement agencies at the local, state and federal level.

The investigation resulted in the arrests of 34 individuals and the confiscation of $750,000 in cash used to facilitate drug transactions, 76 firearms, one hand grenade and multiple vehicles as well as the drugs. The United States Attorney’s Office revealed in a press statement that the individuals arrested were a part of a major international drug trafficking organization.

Eugene was the hub for a vast number of distribution branches across Oregon and beyond, according to Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner.

“It always shocks me a little bit that people don’t believe or haven’t come to terms with the fact that when you’re a community our size on the I-5 corridor, you’re the perfect component for a hub-and-spoke-type of distribution operation when you’re dealing with drug trafficking organizations,” Skinner said. A hub-and spoke operation refers to a central figure (hub) distributing operations to a number of co-conspirators (spokes) to extend the range of an operation.

Skinner noted a few different implications that this drug bust could have on the community, the first being the decrease in drug circulation in Eugene and surrounding areas that may be home to distribution branches.

“Anytime you take off a drug trafficking organization of this size, there’s going to be positive repercussions throughout not only the local community, but the extended communities that were kind of in the pipeline or on the spokes of this particular hub,” Skinner said.

Skinner said, however, that when a drug trafficking ring of this size is taken down, the expectation is that someone will take its place. The Eugene Police Department’s next steps include keeping track of the movement of controlled substances in order to better identify any trends that indicate a new drug trafficking hub, he said.