By Steve Neavling
In a three-year investigation targeting the Sinaloa Cartel, the DEA and local police in Arizona have seized narcotics worth more than $13 million, including more than 4.5 million fentanyl pills, 3,100 pounds of methamphetamine, and large amounts of heroin, cocaine and fentanyl powder.
Law enforcement officials also confiscated more than $2 million and 49 firearms.
So far, more than 150 people have been charged in connection with the probe.
In a news release Friday, the DEA said the Sinaloa Cartel, a notorious drug trafficking syndicate, is response for “nearly all deadly narcotics flooding into Arizona.”
“DEA Arizona is laser focused on the Sinaloa Drug Cartel. We will not stop,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Cheri Oz. “This investigation is a testament to our strong partnerships which enable us to gain the necessary advantage over these evil criminal networks.”
The DEA said fentanyl is “the deadliest drug threat facing our country.”
“There are few families in our state and across our country that haven’t been touched in some way by the scourge of the opioid epidemic and fentanyl crisis,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said. “I am very proud of our agents’ work and am grateful for our strong partnerships with other law enforcement agencies. Getting these drugs off the street will undoubtedly save lives.”
Last year, the DEA in Arizona seized more than $22 million in counterfeit prescription pills laced with fentanyl, 500 kilograms of fentanyl powder, more than 10,000 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 1,400 kilograms of cocaine, and more than 400 pounds of heroin.
