Richland Brothers Sentenced to 20-25 Years for Trafficking Fentanyl in Tri-Cities

RICHLAND, Wash. -- Two Richland brothers were sentenced to 20 to 25 years in federal prison for trafficking hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills in the Tri-Cities.

Kyle Ray Campbell, 36 and his brother Cameron Earl Campbell, 32 were sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Stanley A. Bastian for Possession with Intent to Distribute 400 Grams or More of Fentanyl. Kyle Campbell was sentenced to 25 years and Cameron Campbell was sentenced to 20 years.

Once the brothers are released from federal prison they will also be on 5 years of federal supervision.

According to court documents, the Campbells were trafficking large amounts of fentanyl from Mexico into the Tri-Cities.

Court documents said Kyle Campbell traveled to San Diego in 2019 to meet a contact who provided the fentanyl pills that were smuggled across the boarder.

The contact would then take Kyle Campbell's money and take it back to Mexico to pay the source of supply, according to court documents.

Officials said Cameron Campbell took over these trips to San Diego once he got off of Washington State Department of Corrections supervision. During the investigation, officials said the Campbells were provided with around 50,000 fentanyl pills a month from 2019 to February of 2020.

On February 8, 2020, court documents said Cameron Campbell took a bus from Pasco to San Ysidro, California where he then made several trips to Mexico from San Ysidro from February 9 to February 12, 2020.

During this time, FBI agents were watching surveillance on the bus Cameron Campbell was riding and the agents said Cameron got off the bus carrying several bags. The FBI said Cameron walked into a laundry mat where agents then entered and seized Cameron's phone and luggage.

FBI agents reportedly recovered about 10,000 fentanyl-laced pills inside the seized bags. A search warrant for Cameron's phone showed multiple text messages between Cameron and his brother Kyle which included details about the trip and Kyle offered to pick Cameron up from the bus stop. Texts also included that Cameron had left around 500 pills in a fast-food restaurant bathroom in Portland, Oregon for another person to pick up.

Officials said a federal search warrant was conducted in July of 2022 at Kyle Campbell's home. During the search, FBI agents found a safe with 400 fentanyl-laced pills, baggies with drug residue, a phone, cash, and multiple firearms.

Court documents said Chief Judge Bastian said both defendants obstructed justice during the case. According to Chief Judge Bastian, Cameron Campbell tried to have his now ex-wife erase cell phones seized by the FBI before they could be searched. Kyle Campbell also threatened to harm a witness in the case if they testified.

Chief Judge Bastian also said both defendants showed remorse and promised the would not continue to traffic pills but at the same time were smuggling drugs into the Benton County Jail for distribution to other inmates.

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“The defendants in this case distributed a shocking amount of deadly illicit fentanyl into the Tri-Cities area. This poison causes untold damage to families, neighborhoods, and our nation,” stated U.S Attorney Waldref. “My office is committed to battling the fentanyl epidemic by working together with our federal, state, local and tribal partners to prosecute the most significant traffickers to remove the source of supply of these dangerous narcotics and to protect our community.”

“Every Fentanyl pill introduced into our communities has the potential to destroy lives.” said Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office. “The Campbell brothers were trafficking thousands of these deadly pills into Washington state each month. The FBI and our partners will continue our efforts of keeping these poisons off the streets and out of our neighborhoods.”

This case was investigated by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force in Tri-Cities, Washington, in cooperation with the Kennewick Police Department, Richland Police Department, Pasco Police Department, and the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Caitlin Baunsgard and Brandon Pang.

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