Seattle, WA — In a sweeping multi-agency operation, law enforcement has dismantled a major drug trafficking network operating in and around Seattle’s homeless encampments, seizing enough fentanyl to kill every resident of the city—twice over.
The bust, which involved 14 indictments and 11 arrests, exposed a violent trafficking pipeline that brought narcotics from California into Washington, with deep ties to Seattle’s Chinatown-International District and sprawling homeless camps. Authorities say the cartel-linked operation was preying on the city’s most vulnerable while flooding the region with deadly drugs.
Shocking Scale of the Seizure
Just in March 2025, officials seized:
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100 lbs of meth
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111 kilos of cocaine
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19 kilos of fentanyl powder
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250,000 fentanyl pills
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4 kilos of heroin
A later raid in May netted:
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7 kilos of cocaine
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18 kilos of meth
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57,000 fentanyl pills
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17 firearms
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Over $353,000 in cash
Authorities estimate the total street value near $3 million, with the amount of fentanyl alone capable of wiping out the entire Seattle population twice.
Exploiting Homeless Camps and Ignoring Borders
The operation’s epicenter was Seattle’s homeless encampments, long criticized as lawless zones shielded from enforcement by radical local policies. Seattle Police Chief Shon F. Barnes called out the cartel’s calculated exploitation:
“This criminal organization preyed on the homeless and drug addicted. They terrorized people living and working in South Seattle and the International District.”
The investigation, launched in November 2023, was led by a coalition of federal and local agencies including the FBI, DEA, Seattle PD, and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF).
Many Traffickers in U.S. Illegally—Some Deported Multiple Times
Documents obtained by Talk Radio 570 KVI reveal the immigration status of many of the accused traffickers:
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Luis Soto Lara: Deported five times, convicted of re-entry after deportation
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Jose Garcia Corona: Expedited removal in 2001, multiple visa fraud charges
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Juan Lopez Roblero: Deported twice, immigration violations spanning a decade
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Marco Antonio Bobadilla Gonzalez: Born in Mexico, no ties to community or work
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Isai Gamboa Pacheco: Birthplace unknown, no known employment or residence
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Giovanni Antonio Garduno Garcia: Entered the U.S. with a false claim of citizenship
Federal Response: “We’re Reaching the Sources”
FBI Special Agent W. Mike Herrington confirmed the ring’s operations spanned into Oregon and California, adding:
“We are now reaching sources of supply, further stopping these poisons—and the violence that accompanies them—from reaching our communities.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller emphasized that these were not just street dealers, but high-level traffickers deeply embedded in an interstate network.
The Bottom Line: This Isn’t Just a Drug Bust—It’s a Wake-Up Call
This operation doesn’t just reveal a massive criminal enterprise—it exposes the real-world consequences of failed border enforcement, sanctuary policies, and unchecked urban decay.
Seattle’s homeless camps aren’t just humanitarian crises—they’ve become hubs for cartel activity. And the result is a city awash in drugs, violence, and foreign criminals repeatedly violating U.S. sovereignty.
Seattle was lucky this time. But how many cities are next?
