Two plead guilty to fentanyl trafficking in East Pierce County
Two people in East Pierce County have pleaded guilty to drug charges.
According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice, 34-year-old Trevor Stephen Haahr from Puyallup and 35-year-old Kaeli Arielle Albert from Orting sold fentanyl pills on a “dark web” marketplace. On Sept. 26, both of them pled guilty to a charge of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Haahr also pled guilty to possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute.
“In early 2023, law enforcement began an investigation into sales of fentanyl pills on a marketplace located on the dark web,” the release said. “After ordering some of the pills that were labeled to appear as M30 oxycodone pills, law enforcement testing revealed they were fentanyl pills.”
Police identified Haahr as the operator of the marketplace, the release said. Haahr mailed a package in February 2024, and when police searched it, they found 10,000 fentanyl pills.
Investigators also surveilled Haahr and found “multiple quick meetings” with Albert where they exchanged cash and drugs.
“On March 11, 2024, law enforcement executed search warrants at Haahr’s residence, office, storage locker, vehicle and at Albert’s home, amongst other locations,” the release said. “At Haahr’s office he was signed on to the dark web vender profile. In his truck and storage locker investigators found drug proceeds, fentanyl pills and supplies for shipping the drugs. In Albert’s residence investigators seized more than $23,000 in drug proceeds and body armor.”
In their plea agreements, both defendants admitted that they distributed “more than 100,000 fentanyl laced pills.”
Police also seized bitcoin, a cryptocurrency that Haahr received in exchange for selling the drugs, the release said. At the time of his arrest, the bitcoin was worth about $50,000.
Haahr and Albert are both facing up to 40 years in prison when U.S. District Judge Tiffany Cartwright sentences them on Dec. 18, 2025.
