The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday announced the largest fentanyl bust in U.S. history.
The major drug bust marked “the most significant victory in our nation’s fight against drug trafficking,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said during a press conference at the DOJ.
In the multi-agency operation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), 11.5 kilos of fentanyl, including three million fentanyl pills, were seized. Approximately five million dollars in cash, 35 kilos of methamphetamine, 7.5 kilos of cocaine, 4.5 kilos of heroin, and 49 rifles and pistols were also seized.
Bondi said the operation targeted a drug trafficking organization operated by the Sinaloa cartel, which is considered one of the largest and most dangerous foreign terrorist organizations in the country. The cartel operated a sophisticated network to distribute lethal narcotics, and the sheer scale of potency of the drugs represented enough lethal doses to kill countless Americans, federal authorities said.
Of the 16 people arrested in the operation, six are in the United States illegally.
The alleged leader of the drug trafficking organization, Heriberto Salazar Amaya, was living in Salem, Oregon. An illegal immigrant from Mexico, Amaya has been deported twice.
Bondi accused the defendants of flooding the country with “weapons of mass destruction,” with officials noting that the drugs were distributed in New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. All of the fentanyl pills were stamped as oxycodone and came in various strengths. The attorney general said the precursors were made in China, sent to Mexico, and ultimately entered the United States.
She praised the DEA agents who spent months investigating the drug and weapons trafficking operation. Law enforcement put in more than 55,000 hours of investigative work, she said.
DEA Agent Rob Murphy said that agents infiltrated the organization and identified the leading players of the cartel.
Authorities warned that more seizures and arrests are coming.
“We’re exploiting them at every level,” Murphy said. “We continue to do that. We expect more from this investigation.”
According to Ryan Ellison, U.S. attorney for the district of New Mexico, the defendants are charged with conspiracy and distribution of fentanyl, as well as firearms offenses and, in some cases, immigration violations.
Bondi said the defendants would not be deported back to Mexico and would remain in the United States if convicted.
“The amount of drugs, the amount of money, the amount of weapons most of these individuals [had], if convicted, will remain in American prisons,” she said. “Perhaps Alcatraz.”
The recent drug bust is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to crack down on illegal immigration and criminal activity. The attorney general said the drug bust means that Americans are safer, noting that 75,000 Americans die of fentanyl poisoning every year.
