Federal agents arrested 617 people tied to the Sinaloa Cartel in a coordinated, weeklong enforcement operation spanning 23 Drug Enforcement Administration field divisions, the agency said Monday.
The sweep, conducted from Aug. 25 to Aug. 29, resulted in the seizure of large quantities of narcotics, firearms and cash, officials said. Seizures included 480 kilograms of fentanyl powder, 2,209 kilograms of methamphetamine, 7,469 kilograms of cocaine, 16.5 kilograms of heroin, more than 714,000 counterfeit pills, 420 firearms and $11 million in cash. Investigators also said the DEA and FBI seized about $10 million in cryptocurrency they said was directly linked to the cartel.
The operation included a substantial New England component, with 171 arrests and seizures of 244 kilograms of drugs, 22,115 counterfeit pills, $1.3 million in cash and 33 firearms, officials said. Arrest totals in the region were reported as 64 in Connecticut, 49 in Massachusetts, 33 in New Hampshire, 11 in Maine, 10 in Rhode Island and three in Vermont.
One of the largest coordinated actions in the region occurred on Aug. 27 in Franklin, New Hampshire, where 27 people were arrested following a three-month investigation. Authorities said those arrested had been trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine from Lawrence, Massachusetts, into surrounding communities.
"These results demonstrate the full weight of DEA’s commitment to protecting the American people," DEA Administrator Terrance Cole said in a statement. "Every kilogram of poison seized, every dollar stripped from the cartels, and every arrest we make represents lives saved and communities defended. DEA will not relent until the Sinaloa Cartel is dismantled from top to bottom."
Jarod Forget, special agent in charge of the DEA’s New England Division, said the cartel posed an acute threat in the region. "They’re our public enemy number one in New England," he said. Jim Scott, special agent in charge of the Louisville Division, which covers Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia, said the arrests underscored the cartel’s reach. "This shows that the Sinaloa Cartel’s tentacles spread far and deep; no community is spared," Scott said.
Federal officials described the work as a DEA surge aimed at disrupting distribution networks and financial pipelines that sustain cartel activity in the United States. The enforcement action followed investigations into trafficking routes that span large urban centers and smaller rural communities, officials said.
State attorneys general have pointed to recent federal changes in fentanyl enforcement, including a law signed by former President Donald Trump, as a tool to reduce what they described as a "cat and mouse" game with traffickers. Officials did not provide details on how the new enforcement authority factored into the weeklong operation.
The DEA said the arrests and seizures represent part of an ongoing effort to target high-level cartel members and disrupt their ability to distribute lethal synthetic opioids. The agency did not immediately release the names of those arrested or provide charging details for all cases; local and federal prosecutors in affected districts will determine charges as investigations continue.
The DEA and FBI did not immediately respond to requests for further comment beyond their public statements. Local law enforcement partners assisted in the operations, which officials said will continue as part of broader efforts to stem drug trafficking and related violence across the country.