PORTLAND, Ore. – A 35-year-old former Portland resident who ran a large-scale drug-trafficking and money-laundering operation across Oregon, Washington, and beyond has been sentenced to 11 years and three months in federal prison.
Luis Antonio Beltran Arredondo admitted to distributing massive amounts of fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills, heroin, and methamphetamine, while laundering millions of dollars in drug profits through a beauty salon and real estate investments.
Millions Laundered Through a Beauty Salon
Federal prosecutors revealed that Beltran Arredondo and his girlfriend, Jaqueline Paola Rodrigues Barrientos, funneled millions in cash through the Mazatlán Beauty Salon in Tualatin. Even after the salon was closed, it served as a front for laundering cocaine revenues.
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In 2021 alone, Rodrigues Barrientos deposited more than $3.5 million in drug proceeds into the salon’s accounts.
Beltran Arredondo also used illicit profits to purchase nine residential properties in Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and California, worth more than $4.6 million over an eight-month span.
From Deportation to a Criminal Empire
According to prosecutors, Beltran Arredondo was in the U.S. illegally after a prior deportation. By the time of his arrest, he had relocated to Las Vegas, where he was also out on bond for unrelated felony narcotics charges in California.
“I realize the harm to society that has been caused by this crime,” he told U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon at sentencing. “There’s no way to justify my actions.”
Major Federal Investigation
The case stemmed from a joint investigation launched in October 2021 by the DEA in Portland, with support from the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Oregon State Police, Tigard Police, and the IRS.
Investigators wiretapped Beltran Arredondo’s phone and intercepted communications with two distributors. Between late 2021 and early 2022, law enforcement seized:
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41 pounds of methamphetamine
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26 kilograms of heroin
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115,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl
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$348,000 in cash
Prosecutors said the group trafficked more than 100,000 fentanyl-laced pills into Oregon and Washington during the operation.
Courtroom Arguments
Beltran Arredondo pleaded guilty in June 2025 to conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl and conspiracy to launder money. He was the final defendant among 12 people indicted in the case to be sentenced.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Sax asked for a slightly longer term of 11 years and 8 months, arguing the scope of Beltran Arredondo’s operation made him “a millionaire many times over” at its height.
Defense attorney Michele Kohler requested a 10-year sentence, noting her client’s cooperation, guilty plea, and personal hardships. She argued he had only two main customers, primarily transported heroin, and already faced severe punishment through the forfeiture of his real estate assets.
Kohler also described his background: his father was killed when he was 16, he worked two jobs while attending Tualatin High School, and he initially resisted entering the drug trade before being “worn down.”
Looking Ahead
Beltran Arredondo admitted guilt for involving family members in laundering operations, saying he carried a “great sense of guilt” for using his wife and her nephew to disguise narcotics income.
His attorney told the court that he plans to pursue a GED diploma and learn a trade while incarcerated, preparing for a future outside of crime once deported back to Mexico after serving his sentence.
A Warning on the Fentanyl Crisis
The case underscores federal authorities’ ongoing battle against fentanyl trafficking, a crisis that continues to claim lives across Oregon and Washington. Prosecutors emphasized that removing a major distributor like Beltran Arredondo was a critical step in curbing the flow of deadly drugs into communities.
As Judge Simon delivered the sentence, it brought closure to a multi-agency investigation but left a stark reminder of the scale of drug operations that can hide behind seemingly ordinary businesses.
