“This case highlights the problems with sanctuary policies…It is a disturbing reality that in Washington State it takes a federal felony conviction to finally get him removed from the US following his term in prison.”
A Mexican national living illegally in the United States was sentenced Friday to seven years in federal prison for his role in a major drug trafficking operation that distributed methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl-laced pills in Washington state and Kentucky.
Manuel Garcia Hernandez, 41, of Renton, Washington, was sentenced to 84 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.
Federal authorities arrested Garcia Hernandez in June 2024 following a wiretap investigation targeting a drug trafficking organization that imported narcotics into the Seattle area from Mexico and Colombia. During searches of his truck and residence, investigators seized heroin, a loaded firearm, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and 12 cell phones.
At sentencing, US District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez described the operation as "an extremely serious, very significant drug conspiracy with national and international reach, exposing multiple communities to harm."
The investigation, conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Seattle Police Department, uncovered a trafficking network responsible for distributing large quantities of narcotics across Western Washington and beyond. Authorities seized more than 32 kilograms of cocaine, 14 kilograms of methamphetamine, 83,000 fentanyl-laced pills, three kilograms of heroin, and one kilogram of fentanyl powder during the multi-year probe.
Federal prosecutors said wiretap evidence collected in late 2023 showed Garcia Hernandez negotiating pound-level transactions involving methamphetamine and cocaine. Investigators also linked him to a deal involving three kilograms of controlled substances destined for distribution in Kentucky.
In a statement accompanying the sentencing, First Assistant US Attorney Charles Neil Floyd criticized Washington state's sanctuary policies. "This case highlights the problems with sanctuary policies," Floyd said. "This defendant entered the United States illegally and willfully participated in the destruction of other families by spreading meth, heroin and cocaine in our community." Floyd noted that Garcia Hernandez had previous convictions in Washington, including a 2022 DUI, but was not transferred to federal immigration authorities. "It is a disturbing reality that in Washington State it takes a federal felony conviction to finally get him removed from the US following his term in prison," Floyd added.
According to prosecutors, Garcia Hernandez continued participating in drug trafficking activities even after learning that co-conspirators in Kentucky had been arrested. In court filings, prosecutors argued that his continued criminal conduct demonstrated "a complete lack of respect for the law."
DEA Seattle Special Agent in Charge Rob Saccone said the investigation tracked the drug supply chain "all the way back to the jungles of Colombia" and emphasized the agency's efforts to dismantle organizations responsible for distributing deadly narcotics throughout American communities.
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