Sinaloa Cartel Boss ‘Nini’ Busted for Fentanyl Importation, Murder, Kidnapping, Firearms, and Money Laundering
Nestor Isidro Perez Salas, also known as ‘Nini,’ was extradited to the United States from Mexico on Saturday, May 25, on charges of fentanyl importation, murder, kidnapping, firearms, and money laundering. Perez Salas, a senior leader of the Sinaloa Cartel’s security apparatus, is accused of using violence and a sophisticated security apparatus to protect the cartel’s operations and traffic massive quantities of narcotics, including fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine.
According to the allegations contained in the indictments, Perez Salas and the Sinaloa Cartel have used rampant violence to protect their operation and demolish unsupportive businesses, capture contested territory, intimidate civilians, and attack and murder law enforcement that resist their efforts. The cartel’s sicarios, or armed enforcers, regularly used military-grade firearms and explosives, including machineguns and rocket launchers, to kidnap, torture, and kill anyone who opposed the cartel.
Perez Salas is also accused of personally committing brutal acts of violence to advance the cartel’s trafficking operations. For example, in or about 2017, Perez Salas and two of the Chapitos captured, tortured, interrogated, and killed two Mexican federal law enforcement officers. In or about May 2017, Perez Salas and others captured three members of a rival drug cartel, Los Zetas, and tortured them with electrocution before interrogating and killing them.
Perez Salas was arrested in Mexico by Mexican authorities on November 22, 2023. He was presented on the charges contained in the indictment today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang. Perez Salas will be arraigned before U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla on May 30, 2024, at 3:00 p.m.
The Sinaloa Cartel is one of the most powerful drug cartels in Mexico and is responsible for the manufacturing and importing of fentanyl for distribution in the U.S. Fentanyl is a dangerous synthetic opioid that is more than 50 times more potent than heroin and is the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49.
Perez Salas’s extradition marks a significant blow to the Sinaloa Cartel’s operations in the United States. The cartel’s activities have had a devastating impact on communities across the country, and Perez Salas’s arrest is a testament to the dedication of law enforcement agencies to bringing these individuals to justice.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Justice Department’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section are leading the investigation and prosecution of Perez Salas. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Justice Department’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Organized Crime|Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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