(NewsNation) — A metric ton of drugs have been seized in a takedown of 22 alleged members of transnational drug trafficking operations with links to a Mexican cartel.
In a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California, the 22 people are connected with Beltran Leyva Cartel in Sinaloa, Mexico, and were indicted by a federal grand jury.
The takedown, which involved more than 150 officials from federal, state and local levels, netted 2,204 pounds of drugs, which included methamphetamine and cocaine.
More than $250K in drugs seized across several states
In addition, approximately 1,653 pounds of fentanyl, 10 firearms, and more than $250,000 in narcotics proceeds were seized. The seizures were made in Arizona, California, Colorado and Iowa.
“By disrupting this prolific, cartel-linked trafficking network, we are preventing the devastation and violence it brings,” acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden said in the statement.
Ten defendants were arrested, with searches continuing for the remaining 12 fugitives as of Thursday.
Impact of fentanyl in the US
More than 65% of drug overdoses involve the use of fentanyl, according to the National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Use.
Julie Gaither, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Yale School of Medicine, used death certificate data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to assess fentanyl deaths over the past two decades. She found that nearly 5,200 deaths among the 14,000 between 1999 and 2021 were due to fentanyl.
In 2023, the CDC released a report that said fentanyl overdose deaths had risen by 279% in the past five years in the U.S., according to HealthDay News.
Gaither also found that, in 2021, fentanyl was the cause of death for 40 infants and 93 children aged 1 to 4.