A year-long investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Seattle Police Department (SPD) culminated in the arrests of 10 people Tuesday — including one Centralia man and another who was operating a “stash property” in town.
U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd announced the arrests in a news release on Wednesday.
According to Floyd, the arrested individuals were all connected to three interrelated drug- and-gun-trafficking conspiracies.
The defendants began appearing in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Tuesday. Their cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys C. Andrew Colasurdo and Joseph Silvio.
“These defendants were trafficking fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin on the streets of Western Washington,” Floyd said in the Oct. 29 release. “These drugs take a heavy toll on our community. Worse yet, this group trafficked in dozens of firearms — some of them high-powered assault-style weapons. Yesterday alone law enforcement seized 34 firearms.”
According to the release, search warrants were served at 12 different locations, including at a largely undeveloped “stash property” linked to Jose Isabel Sandoval Zuniga in Centralia. The house reportedly contained 25 kilos of suspected fentanyl powder, more than 90,000 fentanyl pills and two dozen firearms.
Zuniga was allegedly arrested in his vehicle with 1.6 kilos of suspected fentanyl. At his Sammamish home, investigators reportedly seized heroin, fentanyl and a loaded .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol.
Edgar Rivas Robles, 33, of Centralia, was also arrested during the operation.
“This violent organization not only trafficked dangerous drugs but was responsible for putting firearms on our city streets,” Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes said in the release. “I’m thankful for the great work of our Seattle Police officers and our federal partners.”
In total, law enforcement seized approximately 100,000 fentanyl pills, 34 kilos of fentanyl powder, 3.7 kilos of methamphetamine, nearly a kilogram of heroin and 8.7 kilos of cocaine, according to the release. They also seized $40,000 in cash.
“This heavily armed Transnational Criminal Organization threatened all of Western Washington by trafficking guns and fentanyl from Lewis County to Snohomish County,” said David F. Reames of the DEA Seattle Field Division, and special agent in charge of the investigation. “Our entire region is safer today because of the efforts of DEA and our partners, who literally risked their lives to confront this threat to our communities.”
The operation was part of Operation Take Back America, “a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime,” the release stated.
Additionally, Operation Take Back America endeavors to streamline efforts and resources from the Homeland Security Task Force and Project Safe Neighborhood.
The following agencies assisted in the operation, according to the release: Seattle Police Department, North Sound Metro (Regional SWAT), Snohomish County (Region 1 SWAT), Washington State Patrol (SWAT), Centralia Police Department (SWAT), Customs & Border Patrol (BORTAC), Valley (Regional SWAT) and King County Sheriff’s Office (SWAT).
Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation was also part of the investigation.
According to the release, the names of those arrested on indictments include:
• Luis Humberto Lamas-Guzman, 25, Lynnwood
• Eduardo Villavicencio-Salido, 44, Marysville
• Silvestre Ramos Martinez, 35, Everett
• Jose Navarro Hernandez “Robert”, 46, Marysville
• Jose Manuel Ramos Ibarra “Kora”, 28, Everett
• Marisol Perez-Diaz, 23, Auburn
• Jordan Martinez Gamez, 23, Auburn
The names of those arrested on criminal complaints include:
• Jose Isabel Sandoval Zuniga, 30, Sammamish
• Roni Licona Escoto, 56, Seattle
• Edgar Rivas Robles, 33, Centralia
