Drug ring busted in Western Washington, four face federal charges including Mexican national

Four people have been charged in federal court for an alleged drug trafficking conspiracy in Washington state. The lead defendant, Luis Donaldo Galeana Garcia, 29, a Mexican citizen living in Marysville, was ordered detained late Monday after a magistrate judge found him to be both a flight risk and a danger to the community, according to the US Attorney’s Office. US Magistrate Judge Kate Vaughan issued the detention order after hearing evidence that included allegations of significant firearms and ammunition found during searches.

Federal investigators say the defendants were first identified last summer as possible members of a drug trafficking operation. Agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) allegedly identified Galeana Garcia as a major drug distributor in western Washington. By late September 2025, law enforcement obtained information indicating that Galeana Garcia intended to trade about 20 pounds of cocaine in exchange for 15 pounds of methamphetamine and $155,000.

Three other people were allegedly involved in the planned exchange, including Juan Carlos Garnica Pacheco, 33, of Everett, Lorena Esquivel, 35, and Dustin Ray Binion, 27, both of Bellingham.

Authorities say officers intervened during the exchange. Galeana Garcia and Garnica Pacheco allegedly abandoned the car they were driving, and several vehicles were seized. Court-authorized search warrants of those vehicles led to the seizure of approximately 10 kilograms of cocaine, and a 9mm firearm found in the center console of one of the vehicles, according to investigators.

After identifying and locating the defendants, law enforcement executed search warrants at their residences last week. Authorities said both Galeana Garcia and Garnica Pacheco were found with a significant number of firearms and ammunition for semiautomatic weapons.

Because of the quantity of narcotics alleged in the case, the defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison if convicted.