Feds Make Largest Fentanyl Bust In History, Arrest Illegal Alien With Ties To Deadly Cartel

Federal authorities carried out a raid on a massive fentanyl peddling ring in New Mexico that was tied to the Sinaloa Cartel, resulting in the arrest of 16 individuals and the largest fentanyl seizure in American history, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Tuesday.

The raid was carried out by the Drug Enforcement Administration and other law enforcement partners and resulted in the seizure of 11.5 kilograms of concentrated fentanyl powder, 49 firearms, millions of dollars in cash, luxury vehicles, meth, heroin, cocaine, and nearly “three million pills … laced with fentanyl, labeled as oxycodone,” Attorney General Pam Bondi noted. The shocking amount of fentanyl is enough to kill millions of Americans, with just 2 milligrams being a lethal dose for adults.

.@AGPamBondi announces the takedown of a massive drug and weapons trafficking organization in New Mexico, operated by the Sinaloa cartel — resulting in the largest fentanyl seizure in our nation’s history and the arrests of six high-level cartel members illegally in the U.S. pic.twitter.com/6qdSd0bsCu

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 6, 2025

Sixteen people were arrested in the operation, including the leader of the drug smuggling ring, an illegal alien with ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, which was designated as a foreign terror organization earlier this year. Six of those arrested in the operation were in the country illegally, Bondi noted.

The Daily Wire

Daily Wire White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan asked Bondi if the DOJ has had success working with Mexican officials to extradite cartel members involved in the smuggling operation.

As @AGPamBondi announces the largest fentanyl seizure in U.S. history, @MaryMargOlohan asks whether the Mexican government has aided in extraditing cartel members:

BONDI: “Mexico has been cooperating, we extradited 29 here to our country to face charges … President Trump is… pic.twitter.com/NuDGO3Gwog

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) May 6, 2025

“We will be hopefully working with them on one soon,” Bondi said in response to Olohan’s question. “But yes, Mexico has been cooperating in the past. I think we extradited 29 here to our country to face charges,” adding that those brought in to face American justice are “some of the top cartel members in our nation’s history.”

Bondi also highlighted the scale of the fentanyl crisis facing America, noting that “75,000 Americans are dying each year because of fentanyl” before adding that the DOJ “will not stop until this poison is off of our streets and out of our country.”

“More seizures are coming, more arrests are coming,” Bondi promised. “I guarantee you that.” The Attorney General noted that the six illegal aliens, including Heriberto Salazar Amaya, the leader with ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, will face American justice instead of being deported back to their countries of origin.