Police busted a drug smuggling syndicate and arrested 203 people

Police busted a drug smuggling syndicate and arrested 203 people (Alberta Times) The authorities announced the dismantling of a gang group "Sinaloa Cartel&...

Police busted a drug smuggling syndicate and arrested 203 people (Alberta Times) The authorities announced the dismantling of a drug smuggling network run by the "Sinaloa Cartel" Mexican drug organization in Arizona, seizing millions of dollars in drugs and arresting 203 people. The police said last Tuesday that in a 15-month operation organized by Tempe police and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and involving multiple agencies, a total of 203 people were arrested in the Phoenix Valley area, and $7.8 million in cash and cash were seized. More than 1,200 pounds of drugs and 44 firearms. Police said they destroyed the lair used by Mexico's most wanted criminal, the boss of the Sinaloa Cartel, nicknamed "El Chapo" Joaquín Guzman Loera, to sell heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. Last year, Tempe police arrested two men in the drug trade and found they were delivery drivers for a Mexican smuggling ring, providing police with clues. Chief Doug Coleman said the operation removed large quantities of drugs, millions of dollars in drug traffickers' funds and powerful weapons from the city's streets, another serious blow to drug trafficking organizations' attempts to use the Phoenix metropolitan area as a major hub for drug distribution. Police said those arrested included U.S. and Mexican citizens. They were charged with possession, use and trafficking of drugs. The most active area for drug trafficking by the Sinaloa Cartel is in Mexico. Since President Calderon took office in 2006, drug-related violence in the country has killed more than 44,000 people. For this reason, Calderon has repeatedly sent troops to suppress drug smugglers.