Seattle-area man sentenced to 5 years in prison for role in international drug smuggling ring

A Washington man was sentenced to five years in federal prison Thursday for his role in a major international drug smuggling operation with ties to Mexico and Colombia, federal prosecutors announced.

Curtis McDaniel, 56, was sentenced in US District Court in Seattle after being arrested just over a year ago at a motel in Tukwila during a sweeping operation involving the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Seattle Police Department, and IRS Criminal Investigation. McDaniel has remained in custody since his June 2024 arrest.

At sentencing, US District Judge Tana Lin emphasized the serious impact of McDaniel’s role in distributing methamphetamine and cocaine—two of the most common substances linked to fatal overdoses in King County this year. In addition to the five-year prison sentence, McDaniel will serve four years of supervised release.

McDaniel was one of four people arrested on June 5, 2024, as part of a large-scale investigation into a drug trafficking conspiracy that funneled narcotics into the Pacific Northwest. Federal authorities say the group had direct connections to suppliers in Mexico and Colombia.

The lead defendant in the case, Ramon Duarte Garcia, 37, a Mexican national living in Kent, Washington, was arrested after law enforcement caught him driving into the region with 12 pounds of meth, a stolen firearm, and $10,000 in suspected drug proceeds. Garcia was sentenced in May to ten years in prison. Another defendant, Humberto Lopez Rodriguez, 30, also a Mexican citizen and former Renton resident, is scheduled for sentencing on July 30.

The investigation uncovered staggering amounts of narcotics and firearms. Authorities seized 84,000 fentanyl pills, over 1 kilogram of fentanyl powder, 32 kilograms of cocaine,15 kilograms of methamphetamine, nearly 3 kilograms of heroin, $71,000 in suspected drug proceeds and nine firearms, including an AK-47.

The arrests and seizures are part of a broader effort by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), a multi-agency initiative aimed at dismantling high-level drug trafficking and transnational criminal organizations. The Seattle case reflects OCDETF’s strategy of using intelligence-driven investigations coordinated across federal, state, and local agencies.

The DEA and Seattle Police Department led the investigation, with support from the IRS, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Washington State Patrol, SWAT teams from Pierce County and Valley agencies, and police departments in Renton and Centralia. Federal housing officials also contributed to the effort.

According to the US Attorney, international cooperation was key. The Colombian National Police and Colombian Prosecutor’s Office collaborated with US officials, while the Justice Department’s judicial attaché in Bogotá provided critical support.