by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News August 27, 2025
Federal, state, and local authorities combined to bust what they said was a Sinaloa cartel-connected drug trafficking operation that flooded western Washington state with enough fentanyl to kill everyone in the Seattle-Tacoma metro area.
In one of the largest cartel busts in the region in years, authorities arrested 19 individuals who were part of the operation which used semi-trucks to smuggle fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin into the Pacific northwest.
“This Sinaloa Cartel-affiliated drug trafficking group brought misery and death to our community,” said David F. Reames, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Seattle Field Division. “The work of the DEA and our partners seized hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine and fentanyl from this group that could have yielded a staggering 6.9 million lethal doses.”
Law enforcement officials said the drug ring was led by Rosario Abel “Joaquin” Camargo Banuelos, 31, and his brother Francisco “Fernando” Camargo Banuelos, 24.
The 37-count federal indictment names multiple conspirators, including truck driver Isabel Villarreal Zapien, 44, who allegedly moved large drug shipments and was arrested earlier this year.
Other indicted defendants include couriers, redistributors, and stash house operators from both Mexico and Washington state.
Among those charged:
• Jose Mejia Ortiz, 30, Mexico – courier/distributor
• Juan Carlos Garcia Olais, 28, Mexico – courier/distributor
• Jorge Boneo Nieblas, 21 – distributor/stash house attendant
• Karim Davis, 48, Everett – redistributor
• Tyler Johnson, 38, Shoreline – redistributor
• Alex Phan, 19, Everett – redistributor
Several defendants face firearms charges tied to the trafficking operation.
Four additional suspects were arrested during search warrant raids on Aug. 4, including Derel Gabelein, 37, of Whidbey Island, where police seized meth, fentanyl, and other drugs. Another defendant, John Hardman, 57, of Everett, was found with $50,000 cash and a brick of fentanyl powder stamped with a swastika.
The indictments reach all the way back to cartel leaders in Mexico, said acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller: “This indictment names not only the redistributors in the Western District of Washington, but also the brothers in Mexico who profited by spreading their poisons and addiction in the Pacific Northwest.”
Thirteen defendants are currently in custody, while six remain at large. Due to the scale of the drugs seized, many face mandatory minimum sentences of at least 10 years in federal prison.
The operation was spearheaded by the DEA and Seattle Police Department, with support from Homeland Security Investigations (HIS), under Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Justice Department initiative aimed at dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Max Shiner and Crystal Correa are leading the prosecution.
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