Several leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, a transnational drug trafficking organization based in Sinaloa, Mexico, and its facilitators across the globe, have been charged with significant enforcement actions against the largest, most violent, and most prolific fentanyl trafficking operation in the world.
The charges were unsealed in the Southern District of New York, Northern District of Illinois, and District of Columbia, and target every element of the Sinaloa Cartel’s trafficking network, from the chemical companies in China that spawn fentanyl precursors, to the illicit labs that produce the poison, to the networks and money launderers and murderers that facilitate its distribution.
The Sinaloa Cartel is largely responsible for the manufacturing and importing of fentanyl for distribution in the United States. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50-100 times more potent than morphine and has been linked to hundreds of thousands of overdose deaths in the country.
The indictment sends a clear message to the Chapitos, the Sinaloa Cartel, and criminal drug networks around the world that the DEA will stop at nothing to protect the national security of the United States and the safety and health of the American people.
FBI Director Christopher Wray stated, ‘Far too many Americans have become victims in the national fentanyl crisis. These cartels have shown us they will stop at nothing to manufacture, traffic, and push these dangerous drugs to every corner of our country.’
The indictment is the result of a year and a half-long investigation by the DEA, which proactively infiltrated the Sinaloa Cartel and the Chapitos network, obtained unprecedented access to the organization’s highest levels, and followed them across the world.
The Justice Department’s actions demonstrate the comprehensive approach it is taking to disrupt fentanyl trafficking and save American lives. The indictment targets the entire supply chain of the Sinaloa Cartel, from production to distribution, and aims to dismantle the organization’s operations and disrupt its ability to traffic fentanyl into the United States.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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