Reporter Staff

Eleven people, including an 18-year-old Kent man, were arrested Wednesday in Washington and Nevada in connection with a large drug smuggling and distribution ring operating in four Western Washington counties.

An additional person was already in immigration custody. The arrests coincided with the execution of 24 court-authorized search warrants for properties located in King, Snohomish, Skagit, Whatcom, Yakima, and Franklin Counties, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office media release.

The searched locations included a restaurant in Everett, an auto body shop in Sedro Wooley, and a car dealership in Mount Vernon, Washington. Defendants made their initial appearances on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Those arrested in Nevada will make their initial appearances there before being transferred to the Western District of Washington.

Ten of the defendants arrested to date are charged in an indictment returned Oct. 26 with distributing heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine in King, Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom Counties. Additionally, two defendants are charged by criminal complaint.

Miquel Valdovinos-Cisneros, of Kent, is among those in custody for investigation of the drug charges. Other people arrested and charged are from Mount Vernon, Camano Island, Pasco, Everett, Burien and Renton.

Over the course of the six-month investigation leading up to the coordinated searches, law enforcement seized eight kilos of methamphetamine, two kilos of cocaine and nearly a kilo of heroin. Law enforcement also seized more than $117,000 in cash. On Wednesday, agents seized an additional two kilos of cocaine, more than $180,000 cash and more than 20 firearms – including a loaded AK47.

The charges contained in the indictment and complaints are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This was an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation, providing supplemental federal funding to the federal and state agencies involved. The Drug Enforcement Administration led the investigation in conjunction with the FBI, Whatcom Gang & Drug Task Force and Skagit County Inter-Agency Drug Task Force.

Other agencies involved were the Auburn Police Department, Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, Snohomish County Regional Drug & Gang Task Force, Mount Vernon Police Department, Washington State Patrol, Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, Skagit County Sheriff’s Office, Everett Police Department and Seattle Police Department.