Federal agents arrested 27 in Los Angeles and more than 600 suspected CJNG gang members across the United States.
DEA agents participate in a raid against CJNG members in Los Angeles.
Photo:
Twitter @DEALOSANGELES / Courtesy
Federal agents in Los Angeles more than two dozen members of one of the largest drug cartels in Mexico were arrested this week, part of a national offensive led by the Drug Control Administration (DEA) against the Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) cartel, responsible for smuggling large amounts of methamphetamines, heroin and fentanyl into the country, the Justice Department reported Wednesday.
The Drug Control Administration (DEA) reported that members of the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG), based in the United States, They also sent machine guns that they bought in the United States from their bosses across the border in Mexico, contributing to continued violence in Mexico.
More than 600 suspected CJNG members have been arrested across the United States in the past week. in a six-month investigation that the agency calls Project Pythonthe DEA said during a press conference in downtown Los Angeles.
Among them were 27 in Los Angeles County, some of which were apprehended just hours before the announcement.
DEA agents issued search warrants at multiple locations in Los Angeles County beginning Tuesday night through Wednesday morning.
An exclusive ABC 7 video shows a major raid on Compton in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning when federal agents arrested a man accused of facilitating drug distribution for the Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) cartel, one of the world's most dangerous criminal organizations, according to authorities.
The member of the cartel Gregory Sotello he was arrested in a compton house and charged with the transportation and possession of narcotics, as well as possession of an assault rifle with narcotics.
Investigators say Sotello collected drugs from Mexican sources and distributed them to gang members throughout the Los Angeles area. Those drugs would later be sold across the country.
The arrest was the result of Python project, a six-month operation to disrupt the activity of the Mexican drug trafficking cartel in Los Angeles.
The effort also led to more than 600 arrests, 350 indictments, and seizures of $ 22 million in money and assets, as well as 20,000 kilograms of drugs related to the cartel, also known as the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel, throughout the country, according to the DEA.
"The Python Project is the biggest blow by the US authorities against CJNG, and this is just the beginning," said the interim administrator. Uttam Dhillon it's a statement.
A DEA report on drug threats released in 2017 said that the main product of the cartel is methamphetamine, with major U.S. distribution centers in Los Angeles, New York, and Atlanta. The cartel once shot down a Mexican military helicopter with a rocket launcher, according to authorities.
"CJNG has a presence across the country, but its primary drug distribution centers are in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston and Atlanta," officials said in a statement. "CJNG also has a strong and growing presence along the southwest border."
