Leader of international drug trafficking organization pleads guilty to federal charges
SEATTLE - A top leader of a violent international drug trafficking organization that distributed heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine in western Washington pleaded guilty this week in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
In his plea agreement, 34-year-old Luis Arturo Magana-Ramirez of Fife, Washington admitted to leading a transnational drug trafficking organization linked to the CJNG cartel in Mexico.
The drug ring was allegedly responsible for bringing more than 120 pounds of meth into western Washington, as well as large amounts of heroin, fentanyl pills and cocaine. Magana-Ramirez also pursued those who owed drug debts to the organization. Federal law enforcement says they heard Magana-Ramirez on a wiretap threatening to beat or murder those who owed him money.
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When Magana-Ramirez was arrested on July 28, 2020, he allegedly possessed two firearms – one reported stolen, and the other with an obliterated serial number. As a Mexican national who illegally traveled to the U.S., he could not legally possess firearms, a crime that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.
One of Magana-Ramirez's trusted lieutenants also pleaded guilty this week. 26-year-old Jorge Mondragon of Kent, Washington also faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison for drug trafficking and illegal possession of firearms. According to the plea agreement, Mondragon was also one of the conspirators involved in threatening violence over drug debts.
When Mondragon was arrested on July 16, 2020, in Kent. He ran from police and attempted to hide a stolen firearm. When investigators searched his residence and storage locker, they found another firearm and ammunition.
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Prosecutors have agreed to recommend no more than 11 years in prison for Mondragon and 17 years for Magana-Ramirez when they are sentenced by Judge Coughenour on Oct. 25 and Nov. 1, respectively. However, Coughenour is not bound by either of the recommendations and can choose to sentence the defendants up to the maximum of life in prison.
This effort is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation that aims to dismantle high-level criminal organizations threatening the United States.