HSI investigation leads to Thurston County man sentenced to prison for drug trafficking, illegal gun possession

TACOMA, Wash. – A Yelm man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court here to 57 months in prison as a felon in possession of firearms and methamphetamine with intent to distribute, according to an announcement by Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Daniel Ague Masters, 51, kept a substantial arsenal at both an underground bunker and in a garage on a property in Rainer, Thurston County. The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) and the Lewis County Joint Narcotic Enforcement Task Force and the Thurston County Narcotics Task Force and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF).

At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle said distributing methamphetamine “is trafficking in poison. Methamphetamine is a dangerous substance… it destroys people’s lives. When one is engaged in distributing methamphetamine there is harm being done.”

According to records filed in the case, Masters was known in the community as a dealer of methamphetamine who amassed a collection of firearms. Sources told law enforcement that Masters traded meth for stolen firearms. A court-authorized search warrant served on Masters’ homes, underground bunker and a detached garage he controlled turned up two dozen firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition – many of the firearms had been reported stolen. One of the guns was a submachine gun, and another a rifle with a high-capacity magazine. Masters is prohibited from possessing firearms due to felony convictions in Thurston County for methamphetamine trafficking, bail jumping, and attempt to elude.

Masters has been in federal custody since January 2019; he pleaded guilty in August 2019. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ye-Ting Woo.

HSI is a directorate of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 7,100 Special Agents assigned to 220 cities throughout the United States, and 80 overseas locations in 53 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.