‘Something out of a novel’: Undercover stings snare Colombian cocaine supplier, sentenced to 8 years in Seattle

A 65-year-old national of the Dominican Republic was sentenced to 96 months in prison for conspiracy to import cocaine and conspiracy to launder money after being arrested in Colombia and extradited to Seattle.

Jose Manuel Frias Lopez was arrested in June 2024 and was extradited to the U.S. in August 2025. Lopez later pleaded guilty in April, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced.

“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.,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. “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.”

Case grew out of a multi-year international trafficking investigation

The case stemmed from a joint investigation between the Drug Enforcement Administration and Seattle Police Department. Both agencies worked alongside state, federal, and international law enforcement partners to conduct a multi-year investigation into a drug trafficking organization that imported fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin from Mexico into the U.S.

DOJ noted the investigation ultimately traced back to Colombia, where investigators purchased cocaine directly from the source.

The investigation into the drug trafficking organization’s members in Colombia began in April 2023 and ran until January 2024, according to records filed in the case.

Investigators used confidential and undercover agents to identify Lopez as a cocaine source of supply. Undercover agents in the U.S. and Colombian law enforcement met with Lopez and his associates in Colombia.

Lopez sourced the cocaine for delivery to the U.S. and laundered funds that the undercover investigators paid for the cocaine. Lopez also spoke about other aspects of his criminal scheme, such as transporting cocaine to Florida or Spain.

Lopez had prior U.S. convictions dating back years

DOJ noted Lopez had an extensive criminal history in the U.S., including convictions in Oklahoma for drug trafficking, concealing stolen property, and driving under the influence. In 2004, Lopez was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison for trafficking methamphetamine while in possession of a firearm. He was ultimately released and removed from the U.S. in 2014.

Prosecutors noted that cocaine is increasingly tied to overdose deaths in the community when asking for a 96-month prison sentence.

“[Drug] overdoses resulted in 914 deaths in King County in 2025. Through the first six-plus months of 2026, there have been 394 confirmed overdose deaths, with another 44 probable overdose deaths,” prosecutors stated. “Moreover and, although fentanyl gets the lion’s share of attention with respect to overdose deaths — and rightly so, cocaine was the third most common drug involved in King County overdose deaths in 2025. Specifically, cocaine was involved in 218 (24%) overdose deaths in King County in 2025 ― often in combination with fentanyl or methamphetamine.”

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