Editor’s note: Updated at 4:00 pm on 6/13/25 to credit the arrests to the WRDFT.

BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Members of the Whatcom Regional Drug Task Force (WRDFT) arrested two people after investigators say they found a cocaine lab inside their Bellingham hotel room.

Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Deb Slater says the investigation began in the spring, when a 34-year-old man was seen selling fentanyl-laced powder and crack cocaine in Whatcom County.

Investigators confronted the man on Tuesday, June 10 when they saw him in a suspected drug deal at a convenience store parking lot on Meridian Street. They say the buyer admitted to coming there to buy cocaine, which was found inside their car.

The discovery led investigators to serve a search warrant on the man’s hotel room on E. Kellogg Road later that day, where they found a crack cocaine cooking station.

The man was arrested and remains at the Whatcom County Jail without bail.

WRDFT also arrested a 27-year-old woman he was living with at the hotel room, but she was released from the jail on Wednesday on personal recognizance.

Slater says there are expected to be more arrests in the case.