Law enforcement agencies have arrested more than 2,000 people in a 22-month investigation targeting Mexican drug trafficking organizations in the US, the US Justice Department said on Thursday.
The probe, called Project Deliverance, focused on the transportation of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and marijuana along the border.
At a news conference, US Attorney-General Eric Holder called Project Deliverance “just one battle” but nonetheless “a very significant blow” to the cartels.
More than 400 of the 2,000 arrests were made on Wednesday.
The Justice Department says the probe has led to the seizure of US$154 million in currency, over 544kg of methamphetamine, 2.2 tonnes of cocaine, more than 635kg of heroin and 62 tonnes of marijuana.
The US’ Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI worked on the effort with state and local law enforcement agencies.
Among those arrested was Carlos Ramon Castro-Rocha, believed by law enforcement agencies to be among the leaders of organizations importing narcotics into the US.
In Mexico, Ramon Pequeno, head of the anti-narcotics division of Mexico’s federal police, said that US-Mexico cooperation has been key in arresting traffickers.
People like Castro-Rocha “keep a low profile, manage significant amounts of drugs and money, are little known and don’t belong to any traditional drug trafficking organization, which makes it difficult to identify and capture them,” Pequeno said. “It is at this stage that the exchange of information and the collaboration with authorities from other countries is heightened.”
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