Nearly 50 people were charged in Southern California after federal, state and local authorities busted a drug distribution network in the Imperial Valley, allegedly linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, the Department of Justice said Thursday.
The DOJ said following a “long-term investigation,” 36 people accused of trafficking drugs and firearms as well as laundering money were arrested. Authorities continued to search for 11 fugitives.
Officials executed 25 search warrants in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Imperial Counties as well as in Arizona and Oregon, the DOJ said.
Among those taken into custody was a former U.S. Border Patrol agent named Alexander Grindley who allegedly trafficked methamphetamine while being employed by the federal government.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
A staggering amount of narcotics was confiscated during the operation, including more than 700 pounds of methamphetamine and 4 kilograms of fentanyl, which could equate to two million potentially fatal doses.
Authorities also seized 52 firearms such as handguns and rifles.
“With this takedown, the Justice Department has dealt yet another blow to the Sinaloa Cartel and its associates,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “I am grateful to the more than 400 law enforcement officers whose work in this operation resulted in dozens of arrests, charges against 47 defendants, and the seizure of firearms, meth, cocaine, heroin, and two million potentially lethal doses of fentanyl. We will continue to be relentless in our fight to protect American communities from the cartels.”
