DEA surge nets drugs, 617 arrests, 420 firearms, $11 million in cash

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(The Center Square) – The Drug Enforcement Administration said Monday it seized drugs, guns and millions of dollars in cash during a week-long surge effort aimed at the Sinaloa Cartel. 

President Donald Trump used an executive order in February to designate the Sinaloa Cartel and seven other groups as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Prosecutors have already used the new designation to go after fugitive Sinaloa leaders.

DEA agents across 23 domestic field divisions and seven foreign regions arrested 617 people during the last full week in August.

Agents also seized 480 kilograms of fentanyl powder, 714,707 counterfeit pills, 2,209 kilograms of methamphetamine, 7,469 kilograms of cocaine, and 55 kilograms of heroin. 

On top of the drugs, agents seized more than $11 million in cash and about $1.7 million in assets.

They also took 420 firearms off the street, the agency said Monday.

"These results demonstrate the full weight of DEA's commitment to protecting the American people," DEA Administrator Terrance Cole said. "Every kilogram of poison seized, every dollar stripped from the cartels, and every arrest we make represents lives saved and communities defended. DEA will not relent until the Sinaloa Cartel is dismantled from top to bottom."

Trump has made fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid, a very public target of his administration. A DEA threat report released in May said the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation Cartels "remain the dominant threats." The cartels have sophisticated procurement, distribution, and financial support networks that stretch across the globe to China.

"There are tens of thousands of Sinaloa members, associates, and facilitators operating worldwide, in at least 40 countries who are responsible for the production, manufacturing, distribution, and operations related to trafficking dangerous and deadly synthetic drugs," the agency noted. "As part of a larger whole-of-government approach to dismantling the Sinaloa Cartel and protecting U.S. communities, DEA is committed to working with the Homeland Security Task Force and other federal partners to ensure current and future operations advance broader U.S. efforts to combat designated terrorist organizations and transnational organized crime."

Last week, Trump indicated that he would take an aggressive approach to combating drug traffic with a military strike on a boat in international waters. Instead of interdicting, arresting and seizing the drugs, Trump ordered the military strike.

Trump said the deadly U.S. military strike on a small Venezuelan boat carrying 11 alleged drug traffickers should serve as a warning to anyone trying to smuggle drugs into the U.S.

"We have to protect our country, and we're going to," Trump said during an Oval Office meeting. 

Trump posted video footage of the attack on social media. He said those on the boat were members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua who were bringing drugs to the U.S.

"The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in International waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States. The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action," Trump wrote. "Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!"

The DEA threat report from May found that Mexican cartels maintain steady supply chains for precursor chemicals, primarily from China and India, needed to produce synthetic drugs such as fentanyl.

The DEA seized about 29% less fentanyl in 2024 compared to the prior year. In 2024, DEA seized 21,936 pounds of fentanyl. The agency also seized 61.1 million fake pills in 2024, a 24% decrease from the previous year. Data from the El Paso Intelligence Center's National Seizure System – which consolidates drug seizure data from federal, state, and local agencies throughout the United States – indicated a similar trend, with 23,256 total kilograms seized in 2024, down from the previous year.

Fentanyl purity also fell last year, according to DEA testing. In 2024, the average fentanyl pill contained 1.94 milligrams of fentanyl, ranging from a low of 1.58 mg to a high of 2.18 mg. Based on these analyses, DEA forensic laboratory results found that about 5 out of 10 fake pills contain 2mg or more of fentanyl. The average purity of fentanyl powder samples was 11.36%, ranging from exhibits that contained almost no fentanyl (0.07%) to 82% purity.

Falling purity doesn't make the drug safer. 

"The downward trend in fentanyl purity does not mean that street-level fentanyl is less dangerous," according to the report. "Drug dealers in the United States continue to adulterate fentanyl with various animal tranquilizers (such as xylazine), anesthetics (such as ketamine), and other synthetic opioids (such as nitazenes)."