DEA Captures 617 Sinaloa Cartel Members; Seizes Nearly 7.5 Tons of Drugs

The DEA reported yesterday that in just one week, from August 25 to 29, it arrested 617 members of the Sinaloa Cartel inside and outside the United States, from whom it seized 480 kilograms of fentanyl, among other drugs.

The unprecedented seizure of 480 kilograms of fentanyl would be enough, according to DEA estimates, to produce 240,000 overdoses or fatal doses of fentanyl.

In an unnamed operation, the Drug Enforcement Administration reported that the arrests were made by “DEA agents in 23 domestic field divisions and seven foreign regions conducting coordinated enforcement actions.”

However, the DEA declined to identify the regions within and outside the country where the operation took place.

The agency presented “the results of a week-long operational surge aimed at dismantling the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most violent and powerful drug cartels in the world, responsible for flooding the United States with fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin.”

According to the DEA, those arrested were seized more than $11 million in cash, more than $1.5 million in additional assets, 420 firearms; in addition to the fentanyl, 714,000 counterfeit prescription drugs, and 25 kilos of methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin.

The agency reiterated that the Sinaloa Cartel, designated a foreign terrorist organization last February, “remains one of the most significant threats to public safety, public health, and national security.”

During the announcement, DEA Administrator Terance Cole stated that the results “demonstrate the DEA’s strong commitment to protecting the American people.”