The 30-year-old Sammamish man accused of sourcing firearms for the alleged drug-and-gun-trafficking conspiracy operating out of Centralia was arraigned Thursday, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Jose Isabel Sandoval Zuniga, and an alleged co-conspirator, Edgar Rivas Robles, 33, of Centralia, were tied to a rural Centralia property where law enforcement reportedly uncovered an improvised explosive device and illegal cockfighting operation.
The property off of Kresky Avenue in Centralia contained 25 kilos of suspected fentanyl powder, more than 90,000 fentanyl pills and two dozen firearms, according to the DOJ.
On Oct. 28, Sandoval Zuniga was arrested in his vehicle with 1.6 kilos of suspected fentanyl. Meanwhile, investigators seized heroin, fentanyl and a loaded .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol from his Sammamish home.
Less than two weeks before, on Oct. 16, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and its partners busted a drug ring operating in Snohomish County and the greater Seattle area.
U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd said these investigations will save lives that otherwise could have been lost to fentanyl overdoses or gun violence.
“Law enforcement carefully worked its way up the drug distribution chain to find those responsible,” Floyd said. “In one case, they found multiple family members leading the distribution ring. In the other, they found drug and gun distribution intertwined with illegal cockfighting and an improvised explosive.”
The Oct. 28 bust led to 10 arrests, according to the DOJ. In total, investigators reportedly seized approximately 105,000 fentanyl pills, 34 kilos of fentanyl powder, 3.7 kilos of methamphetamine, nearly a kilogram of heroin and 8.7 kilos of cocaine, along with over $140,000 in cash.
The ten defendants, including Sandoval Zuniga and Robles, and have now been indicted on various drug distribution and illegal firearms charges.
The DEA received assistance from the Seattle Police Department, the North Sound Metro, Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, the Washington State Patrol, the Centralia Police Department, U.S Customs & Border Protection, the King County Sheriff’s Office and Valley SWAT.
