Federal officials arrested four men for transporting what they thought were over 50 million lethal doses of heroin across state lines in January 2024.
TIGARD, Ore. — What federal officials initially billed as a drug bust involving 50 million lethal doses of heroin may have actually involved almost no heroin at all, according to court documents.
The case dates back to January 2024, when four men were arrested at a Motel 6 in Tigard after investigators said they were transporting a massive shipment of liquid heroin from Yakima, Washington, to the Portland area.
Officials said at the time that the men were driving a rented U-Haul truck with eight 55-gallon barrels inside and that seven of the barrels tested positive for heroin. Six men were eventually charged in connection with the case.
But analysis provided by a forensic chemist hired by a defense attorney has cast doubt on those findings. A chemist tested the barrels and determined they contained 99.999% water and just 0.001% heroin.
The chemist concluded that the diluted mixture rendered the heroin unusable — a sharp contrast to federal authorities’ original estimate of “millions of lethal doses.”
Luis Deleon Woodward, 28, one of the defendants, had been in custody since January 2024. After the new evidence was presented, a judge sentenced him to time served and three years of supervised release, far less than the sentence he could have faced under the initial charges. Court filings indicate Woodward is also facing deportation to Mexico.
Another defendant, Marco Antonio Magallon, is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Portland declined to comment on the case, citing pending litigation.
