Two Bellingham residents among four arrested in federal drug trafficking case
Four people have been charged in federal court for the alleged trafficking of more than 20 pounds of cocaine in Bellingham, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
Two of the defendants — Lorena Esquivel, 35, and Dustin Ray Binion, 27 — are Bellingham residents. Also named in the case are Luis Donaldo Galeana Garcia, 29, a Mexican citizen residing in Marysville, and Juan Carlos Garnica Pacheco, 33, of Everett. Each faces a potential mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Court records obtained by The Bellingham Herald show that the investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began in June. An undercover HSI agent posing as a drug trafficker allegedly made a controlled purchase of 2 ounces of fentanyl from Galeana Garcia, the leader of the group, in July in Bellingham.
After the sale, the agent and Galeana Garcia discussed purchasing and exchanging cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine over the messaging app Signal, according to court documents. They made a plan in September to meet at a coffee stand parking lot and trade 20 pounds of cocaine for $155,000 and 15 pounds of methamphetamine.
Galeana Garcia reportedly told the undercover agent that he would be meeting with associates outside Bellis Fair mall to discuss the drugs prior to meeting with the agents. Task force officers from the HSI Blaine office and an aircraft operated by an Air and Marine Operations pilot were sent to the mall, where court records state they observed the four defendants moving between a Chevy Tahoe and a Dodge Ram.
After the meeting, Galeana Garcia and Garnica Pacheco drove to the coffee stand in the Tahoe to meet two undercover agents. They then drove to a nearby hotel, where Galeana Garcia told the agents that the cocaine was at the mall.
Court documents show that a third agent in possession of a duffel bag with $155,000 in sham currency and a black suitcase with seven packages of crystal methamphetamine came to the parking lot. When Galeana Garcia got out of his car to inspect the contents, an agent saw a handgun tucked into his waistband.
Galeana Garcia and Garnica Pacheco then drove back to the mall to send the agent a photo proving they had the cocaine for the deal. Afterward, the two drove off in the Tahoe, while Esquivel and Binion left in the Ram.
Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office deputies later interviewed Esquivel and Binion at a trailer park where they parked the Ram. A K9 alerted deputies to the scent of narcotics in the vehicle, according to court documents, and Esquivel became “extremely nervous.” She told officers she had anxiety.
The Ram was impounded, and a later search revealed a cardboard box filled with 10 packages of cocaine, a firearm, a cellphone and leasing documents for a Bellevue residence that officers believe belonged to Galeana Garcia.
Officers also followed Galeana Garcia and Garnica Pacheco, who abandoned the Tahoe outside a Bellingham business and were eventually lost during surveillance. A K9 noted the odor of narcotics in the vehicle, and it was impounded as well. A search revealed packing peanuts similar to those found in the box of cocaine.
Search warrants were conducted on all four defendants’ residences last week, according to the Department of Justice. Officers found a “significant number” of firearms and ammunition for semiautomatic weapons , and Galeana Garcia was ordered to be detained.
Binion was arrested in October on charges including narcotics and firearms violations unrelated to the HSI investigation. However, he told officers his account of the day of the cocaine seizure, which matched the agents’ observations.
Binion has remained in custody without bail at the Whatcom County jail since his Oct. 2 arrest.
WCSO arrested Esquivel around 6 a.m. Jan. 8. Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Deb Slater said a flash-bang was used to alert those in the residence of law enforcement presence. Esquivel was released from custody, and her next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 22.