Colombian resident sentenced to prison for conspiring to ship loads of cocaine to Seattle and other U.S. destinations

Seattle - A 65-year-old national of the Dominican Republic, who was arrested in Colombia and extradited to the U.S., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 96 months in prison for conspiracy to import cocaine and conspiracy to launder money, announced First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Jose Manuel Frias Lopez was arrested in June 2024 and was extradited to the U.S. in August 2025. Frias Lopez pleaded guilty in April 2026. At today's sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Lauren King noted Frias Lopez criminal history saying, he had been "in a revolving door with the justice system in this country."

"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."

This case arose out of a joint investigation by the DEA and the Seattle Police Department (SPD). These agencies, together with other state, federal, and international law enforcement partners, conducted a multi-year investigation into a Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) that imported―from Mexico into the United States―fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin. The investigation ultimately led to Colombia, where investigators purchased cocaine directly from the source.

According to records filed in the case, the investigation into DTO members in Colombia began in April 2023 and ran until January 2024. Investigators used confidential sources and undercover agents to identify Jose Manuel Frias Lopez as a cocaine source of supply. Undercover agents from both U.S. and Colombian law enforcement then met with Frias Lopez and his associates in Colombia. Frias Lopez sourced cocaine for delivery to the U.S. and laundered funds that the undercovers paid for cocaine. Frias Lopez talked about other aspects of his criminal scheme such as transporting cocaine to Florida or to Spain.

Frias Lopez has a lengthy criminal history in the U.S. with convictions in Oklahoma for drug trafficking, concealing stolen property, and DUI. In 2004 he was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison for trafficking methamphetamine while possessing a firearm. He was released and removed from the U.S. in 2014.

In asking for a 96-month prison sentence, prosecutors noted that cocaine is increasingly tied to overdose deaths in our community, "(D)rug 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. 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."

"Drug traffickers cannot hide behind international borders," said Robert A. Saccone, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. "DEA is committed to identifying, investigating, and pursuing those responsible for poisoning our communities, wherever they operate. Working alongside our domestic and international law enforcement partners, we will go to the source country to locate these offenders, bring them to the United States, and ensure they face accountability in U.S. courts. This relentless pursuit is a cornerstone of DEA's Fentanyl Free America, which is focused on disrupting the fentanyl supply chain, reducing the availability of these deadly drugs, and saving American lives."

This investigation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Seattle comprises agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), The United States Marshals Service (USMS), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), the United States Secret Service (USSS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington.

The investigation was led by the DEA and Seattle Police Department. Additional assistance was provided by Renton Police Department, Centralia Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of the Inspector General (HUD OIG), Washington State Patrol, Pierce County and Valley SWAT teams.

The Colombian National Police (CNP) and Colombian Prosecutor's Office (Fiscalia General) partnered with U.S. law enforcement on this investigation. The Justice Department's Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section's Office of the Judicial Attaché in Bogotá provided critical assistance.

The cases from this investigation are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joe Silvio and C. Andrew Colasurdo in the Western District of Washington.