Fourteen individuals, including several from South King County, have been indicted in an ongoing federal crackdown on two interconnected drug trafficking rings accused of funneling massive quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine into Washington state, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington announced on Monday, June 2, 2025.
The arrests follow a long-running wiretap investigation led by the FBI and the Seattle Police Department, targeting organizations allegedly responsible for distributing deadly drugs across the Seattle area, including the International District and homeless encampments.
“This trafficking group was a major supplier of deadly drugs to the International District and other communities throughout the Seattle area,” said David F. Reames, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Seattle Field Division. “The fentanyl powder and pills our team seized in this case could have yielded enough lethal doses to kill everyone in Seattle twice.”
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South King County Suspects:
- Juan Ramirez Recinos41, ofHead(wanted)
- Daniel Ibarra Loera31, ofKent
- Octavio Salazar Palma33, ofFederal Way
- Marco Antonio Bobadilla33, ofPacific
- Leonardo Rojas Cruz53, ofFederal Way
- Oscar Omar Serrano Serrano31, ofAlgona
- Juan Lopez Roblero43, ofLet us go
Other Western Washington Defendants:
- Luis Soto Lara47, ofVancouver
- German Juarez-Otanez34, ofBothell(wanted)
- Alexander Emilio Cozza42, ofSeattle
- Soi Gameco55, ofEverett
- Jose Garcia Corona61, ofSeattle
- Giovanni Antonio Garduno Garcia46, ofIssaquah
- Of the Su44, ofSeattle(wanted)
Law enforcement executed 16 search warrants across Washington, Oregon, and California on May 29, seizing over seven kilos of cocaine, 18 kilos of methamphetamine, more than 57,000 fentanyl pills, 17 firearms, and $353,000 in cash.
The operation builds on earlier arrests made in January, when five members of the same network were charged. Officials say the traffickers preyed on vulnerable populations in the International District and other neighborhoods.
“For years, this criminal organization preyed on the homeless and drug addicted,” said Seattle Police Chief Shon F. Barnes. “They terrorized people living and working in the Chinatown-International District and South Seattle.”
In March alone, the investigation yielded a haul with an estimated $3 million street value: 100 pounds of meth, 111 kilos of cocaine, 19 kilos of fentanyl powder, 250,000 fentanyl pills, and four kilos of heroin.
“The indictment of five defendants in January 2025 was just the first step,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. “Now we are prosecuting fourteen additional defendants.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Herrington added that investigators followed leads out of state to “further stop these poisons—and the violence that accompanies them—from reaching our communities.”
Some of the accused face mandatory minimum prison sentences of 10 years if convicted. Authorities said the citizenship status of several defendants is still under review.
The case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation involving multiple local and federal agencies, including the DEA, IRS Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Washington National Guard Counterdrug Program, Oregon State Police, and Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
The charges are only allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey Conzatti and Brian Wynne.
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