A 53-year-old Federal Way resident, Leonardo Rojas Cruz, has received a three-year prison sentence for his involvement in a drug trafficking conspiracy. The operation targeted, in part, unhoused individuals in "The Jungle" under Interstate-5 and Seattle’s International District. His sentencing occurred on September 30 in U.S. District Court in Seattle, according to a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) press release.
Rojas Cruz was identified as a redistributor of cocaine and methamphetamine, responsible for ordering the drugs in multiple-pound quantities. He was indicted in May 2025, following a comprehensive wiretap investigation.
During the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Tana Lin emphasized the particular vulnerability of cocaine users, including Rojas Cruz himself, to overdose due to the similar appearance of cocaine and fentanyl powder. Judge Lin observed that Rojas Cruz had risked both his own life and the lives of others.
Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd issued a statement detailing significant seizures made in March 2025 during investigations into this and a related drug ring. Law enforcement confiscated 100 pounds of methamphetamine, 111 kilos of cocaine, 19 kilos of fentanyl powder, 250,000 fentanyl pills, and four kilos of heroin. Floyd noted that while the street value of these narcotics was nearly $3 million, the damage to the community from addiction, crime, and deaths far surpassed that financial figure.
Investigation details revealed extensive law enforcement action. On May 29, 2025, authorities executed 16 search warrants across several locations, including Federal Way, Vancouver, Everett, Pacific, Tukwila, Kent, Issaquah, and Seattle in Washington, along with Woodlake, California, and Beaverton, Oregon. These searches resulted in the seizure of more than seven kilograms of cocaine, 18 kilograms of methamphetamine, over 57,000 fentanyl pills, and 17 firearms. Additionally, investigators seized more than $353,000 in cash.
According to the DOJ, Rojas Cruz is a Mexican national with a prior federal conviction for drug trafficking in the Eastern District of Washington. He was sentenced to over five years in prison in 1991. Despite this previous conviction, he returned to drug trafficking for an extended period. It is anticipated that Rojas Cruz will likely be deported following the completion of his prison term.
Investigators identified Rojas Cruz as a trafficker through intercepted communications in October 2024. After a related investigation resumed in 2025, Rojas Cruz was again intercepted in February 2025 discussing the sale of a pound of methamphetamine. The DOJ detailed that Rojas Cruz trafficked significant quantities, including two of the three leading causes of overdose in King County—cocaine and methamphetamine—and was involved in trafficking controlled substances over a long period. Intercepts showed his purchase of substantial quantities of cocaine from a co-defendant over a short period, providing circumstantial evidence of his trafficking activities.
Several co-conspirators in the case have also been sentenced. These include Daniel Ibarra Loera, 32, of Kent, who received 96 months in prison; Jose Garcia Corona, 62, of Seattle, sentenced to 15 months; Oscar Omar Serrano Serrano, 32, of Algona, who received 30 months; Juan Lopez Roblero, 44, of Tukwila, sentenced to 12 months; and Giovanni Antonio Garduno Garcia, 47, of Issaquah, who received 72 months in prison. Another individual, Sang Su, 44, of Seattle, is scheduled for sentencing on November 4, 2026.
