The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration carried out an operation targeting “one of the world’s most violent and powerful drug cartels” that resulted in 617 arrests, according to the agency.
From Aug. 25 through 29, the DEA conducted an operation across all of its 23 divisions targeting the Sinaloa Cartel. President Donald Trump designated the criminal cartel, based out of Mexico, as a foreign terrorist organization in February.
“The Sinaloa Cartel remains one of the most significant threats to public safety, public health and our national security,” according to the DEA.
During the August operation, authorities seized 480 kilograms of fentanyl powder, over 700,000 counterfeit pills, over 2,000 kilograms of methamphetamine, nearly 7,500 kilograms of cocaine, and 16.55 kilograms of heroin. Additionally, the DEA seized over $11 million in currency, over $1.6 million in assets, and 420 firearms.
“These results demonstrate the full weight of DEA’s commitment to protecting the American people,” Terrance Cole, DEA administrator, said in a statement. “Every kilogram of poison seized, every dollar stripped from the cartels, and every arrest we make represents lives saved and communities defended. DEA will not relent until the Sinaloa Cartel is dismantled from top to bottom.”
The Sinaloa Cartel operates in at least 40 countries across the U.S., according to the DEA, and its tens of thousands of members “are responsible for the production, manufacturing, distribution, and operations related to trafficking dangerous and deadly synthetic drugs.”
The operation comes amid the Trump administration’s prioritization of securing the U.S. border with Mexico and arresting and removing criminal illegal aliens living in the U.S.
According to border czar Tom Homan, 70% of the illegal aliens the Trump administration has arrested are criminals and the other 30% are gang members that pose a threat to national security.
There are still about 600,000 illegal aliens with a criminal history on the streets of the U.S. and 1.4 million illegal aliens who have been issued a final order of removal but remain in the U.S., according to Homan.
The DEA says it will continue to work with the Homeland Security Task Force and federal partners “to ensure current and future operations advance broader U.S. efforts to combat designated terrorist organizations and transnational organized crime.”