United States of America v. Giovanni Antonio Garduno Garcia

Seattle, Washington, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with armed drug trafficking.

Reported by Kent Morlan

Giovanni Antonio Garduno Garcia, age 37, was arrested in May 2025 following a law enforcement investigation of trafficking narcotics to vulnerable people living unhoused near Seattle’s Chinatown-International District. On March 9, 2026, Garduno Garcia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

fourteen people were arrested in late May 2025, on two separate indictments charging them with trafficking cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine from California into the Western District of Washington. The fourteen arrested in late May 2025 followed the arrest of five others in January 2025 for firearm and drug trafficking activities connected to Seattle’s Chinatown-International District neighborhood and nearby encampments.

On May 29, 2025, law enforcement executed 16 search warrants in Federal Way, Vancouver, Everett, Pacific, Tukwila, Kent, Issaquah, Seattle, Woodlake, California and Beaverton, Oregon. Investigators seized more than seven kilograms of cocaine, 18 kilograms of methamphetamine, more than 57,000 fentanyl pills, and 17 firearms. They also seized more than $353,000 in cash.
Money Seized

In Garduno Garcia’s residence they seized cocaine, fentanyl-laced pills, and fentanyl powder. Along with the controlled substances, investigators found two semiautomatic firearms, additional magazines and ammunition, body armor, and over $93,000 in cash drug proceeds. Investigators also seized two vehicles, a Mercedes Benz and a Dodge Durango that were proceeds of Garduno Garcia’s drug trafficking activities. All the seized items have been forfeited to the government.

The scope of this drug trafficking scheme involving all the defendants was huge. In March 2025 alone, law enforcement seized 100 pounds of methamphetamine, 111 kilos of cocaine, 19 kilos of fentanyl powder, 250,000 fentanyl pills, and four kilos of heroin. The street value of the narcotics was nearly $3 million.

The investigation was led by the FBI, Seattle Police Department and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with significant assistance from the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program (HIDTA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Washington National Guard Counterdrug Program. Investigators also worked with the Oregon State Police, Centralia Police Department, and Clark County, Washington Sheriff’s Office.

The Defendant pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 6 years in prison.