Feds bust Mexican cartel’s drug, laundering operation in Midwest

(NewsNation) — A superseding indictment unsealed Wednesday hyperlinks the trafficking of fentanyl and different unlawful medication within the Midwest with the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico, federal prosecutors mentioned.

Excessive-ranking Sinaloa cartel members are amongst 26 defendants who face drug-conspiracy prices for his or her alleged involvement in transport a whole lot of kilograms of fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine via southern Illinois and the St. Louis space. Laundered proceeds flowed again to Mexico, the U.S. Division of Justice mentioned.

“The extraordinary work of the St. Louis Area Division and their companions resulted within the seizure of greater than 800 kilos of fentanyl and uncovered a cash laundering community that pushed thousands and thousands in cartel earnings via U.S. banks,” Drug Enforcement Administrator Terrance Cole mentioned in a information launch. “This isn’t a street-corner operation — it’s a cartel pipeline that has flooded the Midwest.”

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Prosecutors say the DEA and its companions arrested 15 defendants in a nationwide operation. In accordance with courtroom paperwork, the drug-trafficking conspiracy central to the indictment occurred between January 2020 and July 2025.

Two defendants, Mexican nationals, are additionally charged with narcoterrorism. It wasn’t instantly clear which defendants had been in custody.

Wednesday’s announcement in regards to the Illinois-Mexico drug connection comes because the Trump administration has designated the Sinaloa cartel a terrorist group.

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