The Drug Enforcement Administration announced Monday that agents arrested 617 people with alleged ties to the Sinaloa Cartel during a nationwide operation across 23 field divisions from Aug. 25 to Aug. 29.
Officials characterized the week-long enforcement action as a surge against one of the world’s most powerful drug trafficking organizations and said it produced a large seizure of narcotics, weapons and cash. DEA Administrator Terrance Cole said in a statement that the results demonstrated "the full weight of DEA’s commitment to protecting the American people." "Every kilogram of poison seized, every dollar stripped from the cartels, and every arrest we make represents lives saved and communities defended," he said.
The operation netted what the DEA described as significant quantities of contraband: 480 kilograms of fentanyl powder, 2,209 kilograms of methamphetamine, 7,469 kilograms of cocaine, 16.5 kilograms of heroin and more than 714,000 counterfeit pills. Authorities also seized 420 firearms and about $11 million in cash.
In New England, federal agents arrested 171 suspects and recovered 244 kilograms of drugs, 22,115 counterfeit pills, $1.3 million in cash and 33 guns. The multi-state tally included 64 arrests in Connecticut, 49 in Massachusetts, 33 in New Hampshire, 11 in Maine, 10 in Rhode Island and three in Vermont. Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s New England Division, called the Sinaloa Cartel "our public enemy number one in New England."
One of the largest coordinated actions during the sweep took place Aug. 27 in Franklin, New Hampshire, where authorities arrested 27 people after a roughly three-month investigation. Officials said those suspects had trafficked fentanyl and methamphetamine into the area from Lawrence, Massachusetts, underscoring the cartel’s reach into both urban and rural communities.
Jim Scott, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Louisville Division, which covers Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia, said the sweep illustrates that the cartel’s "tentacles spread far and deep; no community is spared." The agency described the operation as coordinated across 23 field divisions and involving partnerships with state and local law enforcement.
The DEA said the arrests and seizures will be followed by prosecutions and continued investigative work to identify higher-level traffickers and dismantle supply chains. The agency did not provide detailed information about indictments or where suspects will be prosecuted in the immediate release.
News outlets reported that Fox News Digital reached out to the DEA for additional comment. The DEA statement and agency officials quoted Monday were the primary sources for the figures and descriptions of the operation.
Federal prosecutors have in recent years focused on disrupting precursor shipments and financial networks as well as arresting midlevel distributors; the DEA said that approach guided the recent surge. The agency said it will continue coordinated enforcement actions aimed at reducing the flow of illicit fentanyl and other dangerous drugs into U.S. communities.