Prolific Norteno gang member and drug trafficker sentenced to 12 years in federal prison (DOJ)

Yakima, Washington - First Assistant United States Attorney Pete Serrano announced that on September 30, 2026, Hugo Enrique Davadi (a/k/a "Flako"), age 38, was sentenced by Chief District Court Judge Stanley Bastain to 144 months of incarceration to be followed by 8 years of supervised release stemming from his conviction for Distribution of Fentanyl.

During a long-term investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives into the various criminal enterprises run by La Nuestra Familia, Davadi, a member of the Yakima-based Norteno criminal street gang set La Raza, sold "boats" (i.e. thousands) of fentanyl pills to a confidential informant. Several witnesses identified him as one of the most significant drug traffickers in the Yakima Valley in the 2023-2024 time period, with one witness advising that during the fall of 2023, Davadi provided the witness with an estimated 450,000 fentanyl pills and 3-4 kilograms of fentanyl powder to distribute into the community.

Davadi was in the process of expanding his operational footprint by mailing drugs to Montana; however, became indebted to his source of supply and went into hiding. Davadi was indicted along with multiple other individuals working with La Nuestra Familia. Multiple search warrants were executed in April 2024, and Davadi was located in a local motel in the Yakima area with fentanyl, methamphetamine, suboxone strips, multiple cell phones, U.S. Currency, digital scales, drug use paraphernalia with drug residue, and a loaded firearm.

Davadi was previously convicted in federal court stemming from a 2010 incident where he was attempting to avoid arrest but was ultimately caught with methamphetamine and a loaded firearm (2:11-CR-2041-RMP). He was sentenced to 77 months in custody to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. He violated the terms of his supervised release twice, once for committing a new crime and another time for failing to engage in drug treatment services. Davadi was offered the opportunity to participate in the District's Sobriety Treatment Education Program ("STEP") to provide him intense supervision focused on treatment for his reported drug addiction. He was terminated from that program after he was arrested for domestic violence and then for a DUI and continued to use controlled substances.

First Assistant United States Attorney Pete Serrano said, "Despite receiving every resource to change his course and address his drug addiction, Davadi chose to re-engage in drug trafficking, and did so at devastating level to the Yakima Valley community. This investigation and efforts by ATF to investigate a violent street gang, including investigating Davadi, a known gang member who was also engaged in armed drug trafficking, highlights the importance of our federal and state partnership. These investigations resulted in significant prosecutions and sentences for repeat offender like Davadi, making the community much safer."

"Despite being offered every opportunity to change his path, Mr. Davadi has continually chosen a life of crime. By flooding our streets with thousands upon thousands of fentanyl pills, he demonstrated a blatant disregard for human life and became a clear and imminent threat to our community. Mr. Davadi deserves every single day of his 144-month prison sentence," said ATF Seattle Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Blais. "With another prolific drug trafficker and dangerous gang member behind bars, ATF will continue dismantling the criminal networks that threaten our communities. This case is closed but our work is not: we are already looking for the next trafficker who falsely believes they can operate with impunity."

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Yakima Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the United States Bureau of Prisons. This prosecution is also part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders.