Bellingham drug dealer sentenced to 10 years in prison

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - A Bellingham man was sentenced to ten years in prison for dealing fentanyl, cocaine, meth, and owning multiple firearms as a felon.

Daniel Faix, 39, was arrested in April 2023 and pleaded guilty to possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute, unlawful possession of firearms, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Faix is one of six people charged in a months-long investigation of fentanyl dealing in Whatcom County. The ring was moving fentanyl from Seattle to Bellingham, the Department of Justice says.

"When Mr. Faix encountered law enforcement in late December 2022, he was carrying thousands of fentanyl pills, and drug proceeds," said U.S. Attorney Gorman. "But one arrest didn’t stop him, and four months later a search of his RV home turned up thousands more pills and four guns he kept to protect his drug business. Spreading such poison in our community while illegally possessing guns, and the defendant’s extensive criminal history, merits a ten-year-prison term."

Law enforcement says they observed various drug transactions, and had to revive two people involved in the drug ring after they overdosed on fentanyl.

Another member of the drug ring, 33-year-old Ahbdurman Ahmed, was sentenced in January 2024 to six years in prison.

Two others have pleaded guilty to involvement in the ring and are scheduled to be sentenced later this year. Another defendant is scheduled for trial in July, while one suspect is still on the run.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces operation.