In raids across California, Arizona, and Nevada, federal authorities seized tens of millions of dollars’ worth of methamphetamine.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Wednesday, Nov. 7, that it has charged 48 suspected Sinaloa cartel members with distributing meth, fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine.
Along with guns, police say they found more than 8,000 pounds of methamphetamine, which has a street value of about $72 million.
About 150 federal, state, and local police officers were sent to Imperial County, California, Yuma, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Nevada, to carry out search warrants and arrest 25 suspects, according to the DOJ.
Police say that 23 of the people they think are responsible for the crimes are still on the run.
In the DOJ indictments, people are charged with drug trafficking, conspiracy, and smuggling large amounts of cash. If found guilty, the person will have to pay a $10 million fine and spend at least 10 years in prison, and up to their whole life in prison.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath said that the arrests and seizures of drugs are a huge blow to a major drug-trafficking network.
The Sinaloa cartel is one of the strongest criminal groups in Mexico, and it has long been in charge of drug routes into the US.
The group charged in the indictment is connected to a drug lord named “El Mayo,” who is being held in New York at the moment. The group works out of Imperial Valley and Mexicali, Mexico.