A 56-year-old Tukwila man was sentenced this week to five years in federal prison for his role in a sweeping international drug trafficking conspiracy that connected narcotics suppliers in Mexico and Colombia to distribution operations in South King County, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) announced.
Curtis McDaniel, the only American defendant in the case, was arrested in June 2024 at a Tukwila motel and has been in custody ever since.
In sentencing McDaniel to five years in prison and four years of supervised release to follow his prison term, U.S. District Judge Tana Lin referenced the significant impact that McDaniel’s distribution of methamphetamine and cocaine have upon our community—specifically noting that methamphetamine and cocaine were the second and third most common substances involved in overdose deaths in King County in 2024.
McDaniel’s arrest was part of a major investigation that resulted in 24 search or arrest warrants being executed by a coalition of agencies, including the DEA, Seattle Police Department, and IRS Criminal Investigation.
The bust led to the seizure of 84,000 fentanyl pills, more than a kilogram of fentanyl powder, 32 kilograms of cocaine, 15 kilograms of methamphetamine, nearly three kilograms of heroin, nine firearms — including an AK-47 — and more than $71,000 in drug proceeds.
Lead defendant Ramon Duarte Garcia, 37, a citizen of Mexico who lived in Kent, Washington, was identified as a significant drug supplier when law enforcement stopped him driving back to the Pacific Northwest with 12 pounds of methamphetamine in his vehicle, along with a stolen firearm and $10,000 in drug trafficking proceeds. Duarte Garcia, was sentenced to ten years in prison in May 2025. Defendant Humberto Lopez Rodriguez, 30, a citizen of Mexico, formerly of Renton, Washington, is scheduled for sentencing on July 30, 2025.
The investigation, which spans multiple jurisdictions and international partners, is part of a broader Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) effort to dismantle transnational criminal organizations.
In addition to federal and local agencies, the Colombian National Police and Prosecutor’s Office contributed to the operation. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Judicial Attaché in Bogotá also assisted.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joe Silvio and C. Andrew Colasurdo are prosecuting the cases in the Western District of Washington.
McDaniel will also serve four years of supervised release following his prison term.
