Cross-Border Sting Nets Arrest of Sinaloa Cartel Members

The highly secretive, daylong law enforcement operation around the Arizona border with Mexico resulted in the arrest of two dozen alleged high-level Mexican drug cartel members, according to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman.

A soldier patrols on the perimeters of the Altiplano maximum security prison in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, on Jan. 9, 2016, where Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, head of the Sinaloa Cartel, is being held after his recaptur. AP Photo/Marco Ugarte

TUCSON, Ariz.—The highly secretive, daylong law enforcement operation around the Arizona border with Mexico resulted in the arrest of two dozen alleged high-level Mexican drug cartel members, according to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman.

The sting known as Mexican Operation Diablo Express took place all of Friday as numerous law enforcement agencies converged onto Lukeville, Arizona, which sits on the border with Mexico.

Homeland Security Investigations, a unit of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, helped Mexican authorities nab 24 alleged members of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of Mexico’s biggest drug-trafficking organizations, who were operating around Sonoyta, Mexico, and the U.S. border, spokeswoman Gillian M. Christensen said. The DEA, FBI, Customs and Border Protection and Arizona state and local agencies were on hand to assist.

The targeted Sinaloa cell has been responsible for the importation of millions of pounds of illegal drugs ... into the U.S. from Mexico during its existence.

— Gillian M. Christensen, spokeswoman, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement