A 65-year-old Dominican Republic national, Jose Manuel Frias Lopez, was sentenced on July 29 in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 96 months in prison for conspiracy to import cocaine and conspiracy to launder money, according to First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Frias Lopez was arrested in Colombia in June 2024 and extradited to the United States in August 2025. He pleaded guilty in April 2026.
At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Lauren King referenced Frias Lopez’s criminal history, stating he had been “in a revolving door with the justice system in this country.” Floyd said, “This defendant was at the center of the criminal organization in this case, importing cocaine to the streets of Seattle and other parts of the U.S. The undercover meetings sound like something out of a novel, but they capture the real interactions of sophisticated drug traffickers who seek to profit by feeding addiction. Even at an advanced age, with prior U.S. prison stints, Mr. Frias Lopez could not resist the lure of what he apparently saw as easy money.”
The case resulted from a multi-year investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Seattle Police Department into a drug trafficking organization that imported fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin from Mexico into the United States. Investigators used confidential sources and undercover agents beginning April 2023 through January 2024 to identify Frias Lopez as a source of supply for cocaine shipments destined for delivery within the United States.
According to records filed in court, undercover agents from both U.S. and Colombian law enforcement met with Frias Lopez and his associates in Colombia where he arranged cocaine deliveries and laundered funds provided by investigators posing as buyers. He also discussed plans involving transporting drugs beyond Washington state.
Frias Lopez has previous convictions including drug trafficking offenses dating back years; notably he served over thirteen years following a conviction for trafficking methamphetamine while armed before being released and removed from the United States in 2014.
Prosecutors highlighted concerns about increasing overdose deaths linked to cocaine use locally: “(D)rug overdoses resulted in 914 deaths in King County in 2025…cocaine was involved in 218 (24%) overdose deaths…often combined with fentanyl or methamphetamine.” Robert A. Saccone of DEA Seattle Field Division said, “Drug traffickers cannot hide behind international borders…we will go to the source country to locate these offenders…and ensure they face accountability…”
The investigation is part of Homeland Security Task Force initiatives targeting transnational crime organizations under Executive Order 14159—Protecting the American People Against Invasion—and included assistance from multiple federal agencies such as Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), FBI, ATF, USMS, USPIS, IRS-CI among others; prosecution is being led by Assistant United States Attorneys Joe Silvio and C. Andrew Colasurdo.
The DEA received support from Renton Police Department; Centralia Police Department; HUD Office of Inspector General; Washington State Patrol; Pierce County & Valley SWAT teams; Colombian National Police; Colombian Prosecutor’s Office; Justice Department’s Narcotic & Dangerous Drug Section’s Bogotá office.
The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington handles federal prosecutions—including cases like this one—civil litigation matters across Western Washington including Seattle & Tacoma areas through offices located there as part of its role within about eighty-five attorneys plus seventy support staff under the official website.