‘Driven by greed’: Leader of Seattle drug trafficking ring sentenced to 8 years, faces deportation
Sep 10, 2026, 12:27 PM
A photo of the drugs seized in "The Jungle." (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Justice)
(Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Justice)
A 32-year-old man was sentenced to eight years in prison for leading a drug trafficking organization in Seattle.
A joint investigation by the Seattle Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement Administration into Daniel Ibarra Loera began in 2023. A wiretap investigation uncovered Ibarra Loera as the distributor of large quantities of cocaine and fentanyl. He was living in Kent at the time.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd said that in May 2025, search warrants at 16 different locations recovered cocaine, methamphetamine, 57,000 fentanyl pills, 17 firearms, and $353,000 in cash.
“Driven by greed, this defendant trafficked both cocaine and fentanyl to some of the most vulnerable in our community,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd.
In May, Ibarra Loera pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. A U.S. District Court in Seattle sentenced him to eight years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Floyd said Ibarra Loera is not a U.S. citizen and “appropriately faces a lengthy prison sentence and removal to Mexico.”
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