WASHINGTON: US drug enforcement agents seized over $10 million in cryptocurrency linked to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel during nationwide raids targeting fentanyl and methamphetamine operations.
The crackdown also recovered 44 million fentanyl pills and thousands of pounds of narcotics since January, according to the US Department of Justice.
The Sinaloa cartel, designated as a global terrorist organisation, faced significant financial and operational blows as authorities intensified pressure.
DEA Acting Administrator Robert Murphy stated, “DEA is hitting the cartels where it hurts -- with arrests, with seizures, and with relentless pressure.”
The cryptocurrency seizure in Miami was part of broader operations spanning California, Texas, and Georgia.
In Texas, agents found 1,700 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a vehicle, while Georgia uncovered 705 pounds concealed in cucumber shipments.
The raids follow the guilty plea of Ovidio Guzman Lopez, son of jailed drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, in a Chicago court.
His father is serving a life sentence after a 2019 conviction. – AFP
