An Everett man was sentenced to prison Friday following a federal investigation into a Mexican drug trafficking organization (DTO) operating out of Tacoma, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Levi Frank Graham, 40, will serve 10 and a half years in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. The prosecution was led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.
“Mr. Graham has been relentlessly engaged in criminal activity since the age of 18,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd said in the release. “He has 26 criminal convictions in the past 22 years, most recently a lengthy sentence for illegal gun possession. This latest federal conviction involves deadly drugs, packaged for distribution, while he once again illegally possessed a firearm. His previous 110-month sentence did not deter him, so this longer prison sentence is required to protect the public.”
According to the DOJ, Graham worked as a drug redistributor for the Camargo Banuelos brothers of Sinaloa, Mexico, whose DTO arranged the transportation of kilos of methamphetamine and fentanyl to the Pacific Northwest, sometimes carrying the drugs in semi-trucks north on Interstate 5.
During the investigation, Graham was reportedly heard on a wiretap ordering pound quantities of methamphetamine and thousands of fentanyl pills. He also tried to obtain fentanyl powder.
“Despite numerous convictions, including a 10-year sentence for drug trafficking, Mr. Graham continued to show a complete disregard for the law and the safety of our communities by trafficking thousands of pounds of fentanyl and other deadly narcotics into Western Washington,” Robert A. Saccone, special agent in charge at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Seattle Field Division, said in the release. “This sentence will help protect the public and hold him accountable for the harm caused by his actions. Through Fentanyl Free America, DEA, along with our federal, state, and local partners, is committed to disrupting the fentanyl supply chain, reducing the availability of these deadly drugs, and saving American lives.”
The DEA reportedly became aware of Graham in September 2022 while investigating the DTO led by Rosario Abel “Joaquin” Camargo Banuelos and Francisco “Fernando” Camargo Banuelos. According to the release, the Camargo Banuelos brothers are responsible for distributing large quantities of methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin and cocaine in the Western District of Washington and beyond.
Police arrested Graham in September 2024 after he reportedly ordered thousands of fentanyl pills and pounds of methamphetamine from the Camargo Banuelos brothers. According to the DOJ, Graham continued to communicate with the DTO until law enforcement arrested over a dozen people on Aug. 4, 2025. The coordinated effort resulted in the seizure of seven pistols, three rifles, 3 kilograms of methamphetamine, over 5 kilograms of fentanyl, nearly 4 kilograms of cocaine, more than a kilogram of heroin and $342,000 in suspected drug trafficking proceeds.
Past investigations into the DTO reportedly yielded roughly 465 pounds of methamphetamine, 269 pounds of fentanyl, 23 pounds of cocaine and 6.4 pounds of heroin, along with over $309,522 in assets and at least 10 firearms.
According to the DOJ, Graham was found with drugs and a gun at an Everett hotel on Sept. 3, 2025. Prosecutors later asked for a 15-year sentence.
“In this case, Graham engaged in drug trafficking over the course of at least 15 months while the investigation went on, re-arming himself with another firearm and body armor, and bringing his drug trafficking base of operations to a hotel in Everett where it endangered the residents and the broader community,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo.
The Seattle Police Department investigated the case alongside the DEA, according to the DOJ. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) assisted.
According to the release, the investigation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF). HSTF Seattle consists of agents and officers from HSI, the FBI, the DEA, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the United States Marshals Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, the United States Secret Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service.
