Seattle Chinatown-International District Drug Ring Leader Sentenced to 10 Years: Tommy Pham Supplied Fentanyl and Other Drugs to Homeless Encampments
A federal court in Seattle, in King County, Washington, on October 21 sentenced Tommy Pham, 39, of Newcastle, to ten years in prison. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington said Pham was a supplier and distributor who led a drug trafficking organization selling methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl in Seattle's homeless encampments and its Chinatown-International District, including the encampment known as 'The Jungle' under I-5.
At the sentencing hearing, Judge Tana Lin said Pham had gambled not only with his own life but with the lives of thousands of people by pumping drugs into the community, and that the combination of drugs and guns significantly increased the risk of harm. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd noted this was not Pham's first federal drug conviction: a prior three-year sentence had not deterred him from dealing or from illegally possessing high-powered firearms to protect the business. W. Mike Herrington of the FBI's Seattle field office and Robert A. Saccone of the DEA's Seattle Field Division said the organization preyed on vulnerable people, including those experiencing homelessness, and that Pham's supply funneled fentanyl and other drugs into the Chinatown International District.
According to court records, the investigation began in November 2023, with the Seattle Police Department, the FBI, and the DEA using a court-authorized wiretap. In December 2024, Pham was found slumped in his car with a loaded 9mm Glock 19, eight grams of methamphetamine, and $1,322 in cash. During the January 2025 arrest operation, law enforcement seized 17 firearms, five of them from Pham's residence and vehicle; Pham himself was arrested at a nearby casino with methamphetamine, marijuana, and a firearm. He pleaded guilty in February 2026, and prosecutors had asked for a 157-month sentence. Judge Lin also ordered five years of supervised release. Pham is the fifth and final defendant sentenced in the case; the other four previously received terms ranging from 30 to 120 months. IRS Criminal Investigation also participated in the investigation, and officers searching Pham's home also found small amounts of methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine.
Related: D.C. Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Deadly Arson Spree That Killed a Homeless Man
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Seattle 华埠国际区的历史华埠牌楼（资料图），本案毒品分销活动正发生在这一带。Joe Mabel 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，取自维基共享资源。Photo: Historic Chinatown Gate in Seattle's Chinatown-International District (file photo). Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
