Everett repeat offender gets more than 10 years in prison for distributing kilos of meth and fentanyl tied to Sinaloa cartel
Sep 18, 2026, 5:00 AM
Drugs seized in the bust. (Photo courtesy of United States Department of Justice)
(Photo courtesy of United States Department of Justice)
An Everett man with 26 criminal convictions was sentenced Friday to 10 and a half years in federal prison for his role in a Sinaloa cartel-connected drug trafficking ring that used semitrucks to move kilos of methamphetamine and fentanyl up I-5 into the Pacific Northwest.
Levi Frank Graham, 40, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Tacoma for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.
Federal investigators identified Graham as a drug redistributor for brothers Rosario Abel “Joaquin” Camargo Banuelos and Francisco “Fernando” Camargo Banuelos, who are based in Sinaloa, Mexico.
Graham was caught on a federal wiretap ordering pounds of methamphetamine, thousands of fentanyl pills, and repeatedly trying to get fentanyl powder from the brothers’ organization.
26 convictions in 22 years
“Mr. Graham has been relentlessly engaged in criminal activity since the age of 18,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd stated. “He has 26 criminal convictions in the past 22 years, most recently a lengthy sentence for illegal gun possession.
“This latest federal conviction involves deadly drugs, packaged for distribution, while he once again illegally possessed a firearm,” he continued. “His previous 110-month sentence did not deter him, so this longer prison sentence is required to protect the public.”
Chief U.S. District Judge David G. Estudillo addressed Graham directly at the sentencing hearing.
“You, yourself, Mr. Graham, know what the impact of those controlled substances has on individuals, their family, community. You know the devastation that those types of substances have because you lived it,” Estudillo said.
In their sentencing memo, prosecutors said Graham “engaged in drug trafficking over the course of at least 15 months while the investigation went on, re-arming himself with another firearm and body armor, and bringing his drug trafficking base of operations to a hotel in Everett where it endangered the residents and the broader community.”
Wiretaps, arrests, and a massive drug seizure
The Drug Enforcement Administration first picked up Graham’s trail in September 2022 during an investigation into a Mexican drug trafficking organization operating out of Tacoma with ties to Nevada, Oregon, and California.
By June 2024, Graham was recorded on wiretaps and in text messages ordering thousands of fentanyl pills and pounds of meth from the Camargo Banuelos brothers. Local police arrested him in September 2024 with drugs and cash from drug sales.
Graham remained in contact with the trafficking organization until coordinated federal arrests in August 2025 swept up numerous individuals connected to the ring. In September 2025, Graham was arrested at an Everett hotel with drugs and a gun.
Hundreds of pounds of drugs seized across the investigation
The August 2025 takedown alone resulted in the seizure of seven pistols, three rifles, nine kilograms of methamphetamine, more than five kilograms of fentanyl, nearly four kilograms of cocaine, more than a kilogram of heroin, and over $342,000 in suspected drug proceeds.
Earlier seizures during the broader investigation netted approximately 465 pounds of methamphetamine, 269 pounds of fentanyl, 23 pounds of cocaine, and 6.4 pounds of heroin, along with more than $309,000 in assets and 11 firearms.
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‘Complete disregard for the law’
Robert A. Saccone, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Seattle Field Division, said Graham’s case underscores the agency’s focus on cartel-connected drug pipelines flowing into Washington.
“Mr. Graham continued to show a complete disregard for the law and the safety of our communities by trafficking thousands of pounds of fentanyl and other deadly narcotics into western Washington,” Saccone said. “This sentence will help protect the public and hold him accountable for the harm caused by his actions.”
The case was investigated by the DEA and the Seattle Police Department with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations.
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