Pierce County contractor who became cartel-backed drug trafficker sentenced to prison
A Fife man who led an international drug-trafficking organization was sentenced on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
Luis Arturo Magana-Ramirez, 35, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for leading the ring, which distributed heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine in the Puget Sound region, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.
Seventeen of Magana-Ramirez’s co-defendants were previously sentenced for their participation in the ring, court documents show.
The ring was linked to a cartel in Mexico. Magana-Ramirez was responsible for bringing large amounts of drugs into Western Washington. He also pursued those who owed drug debts to the organization. Wiretaps revealed Magana-Ramirez threatening to beat or murder those who owed the organization money. In one instance, law enforcement moved in to protect one of his targets, the release said.
Magana-Ramirez was arrested on July 28, 2020. He was in possession of two firearms, one that was reported stolen and another that had an obliterated serial number. Magana-Ramirez is a Mexican national who is in the United States illegally so he cannot legally possess firearms, the release said.
Magana-Ramirez pleaded guilty on July 21, 2022, the release said.
“This defendant had a successful career as a contractor until he succumbed to the dark allure of drug money,” said acting U.S. Attorney Gorman in the release. “He not only flooded our communities with dangerous drugs, he sought out firearms to impose his will on rivals and debtors and to keep the dollars flowing to him and to his bosses in the cartel. He has earned this lengthy prison term.”
Magana-Ramirez’s attorneys argued for a sentence between 120 to 130 months in custody, according to the defendant’s sentencing memorandum.
Magana-Ramirez had no prior criminal record and grew up in an area of Mexico ruled by drug cartels. His attorneys argued that the “atrocities” Magana-Ramirez witnessed from the cartel affected his mental health. They wrote that his actions with the ring were “intertwined” with the effects of growing up in a dysfunctional state in Mexico, the memorandum said.
It was also argued that his practically non-existent relationship with his late father had potential serious issues for Magana-Ramirez, the memorandum said.
The ring was responsible for bringing more than 120 pounds of meth, heroin, fentanyl pills and cocaine in the region, the release said.
According to prosecutors, Magana-Ramirez drove the success of the ring through fear. He would threaten and have violent confrontations to ensure that the ring and its members continued to make profits.
At his sentencing, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said Magana-Ramirez “had a leadership role in an organization bringing large quantities of drugs into the area, particularly fentanyl which is wreaking havoc in our community,” the release said.
Magana-Ramirez will be deported back to Mexico once he finishes his sentence, court documents show.
