Sinaloa cartel blow: DEA seizes largest shipment of methamphetamine in California in history

A shipment of methamphetamine "enough to provide a dose to every man, woman and child in the United States and Mexico."

This is how the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) described this Wednesday the

load

seized in an operation in southern Los Angeles, California, and from Mexico. 

It is the "largest internal methamphetamine seizure in the history" of the agency, consisting of

The raid took place Oct. 2 at several homes in the cities of Moreno Valley and Perris, in Riverside County, California, said Timothy Shea, acting administrator of the DEA. 

The operation also seized 900 pounds (405 kilos) of cocaine and 13 pounds (5.9 kilos) of heroin, all drugs related to the Sinaloa Cartel. Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag

The operation also seized 900 pounds (400 kilos) of cocaine and 13 pounds (6 kilos) of heroin, all drugs related to the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, which the authorities blame for the distribution in southern California.

[The Sinaloa cartel maintains its leadership in drug trafficking in the United States despite the arrest of 'El Chapo', according to the DEA]

Due to its huge metropolitan area, with four airports, numerous highways and other means of distribution, Los Angeles is one of the centers preferred by drug traffickers to move large quantities of drugs and send them to the rest of the country, authorities said.

“That is why the traffickers prefer to bring the drugs here.

It is also a big city where it is easier to mix.

”Agent William Bodner noted at the press conference.

Another seizure made Oct. 9 at the Otay Mesa border crossing in San Diego was the second largest on the border with Mexico, officials said.

Approximately 3,014 pounds (1,367 kilos) of methamphetamine, 64 pounds (29 kilos) of heroin and about 66 pounds (30 kilos) of powdered fentanyl and pills were found in a truck stopped at the San Isidro checkpoint. 

Operation Crystal Shield 

The massive

seizure 

 is the result of a DEA strategy launched in February 2020 and called Operation Crystal Shield that focuses "on the main centers of methamphetamine transportation and trafficking in the United States," according to the agency. 

The Operation is a nationwide effort involving

, including Los Angeles and San Diego, California;

Phoenix, in Arizona;

and Atlanta, in Georgia.

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The operation has resulted in the seizure of more than 4,800 pounds (2,180 kilos) of methamphetamine nationwide.

Federal officials say they continue to work on executing more arrests.

“For decades, methamphetamine has been a leading cause of violence and addiction, a threat caused by drugs that has never gone away,” the agency said in announcing the operation, noting that

The operation has led in the last six months to the arrest of 2,800 operators of the Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartels.

It has also made possible the seizure of more than 400 firearms and 55 million dollars in cash in different cities.

Drug trafficking from Mexico during the pandemic 

An investigation by Noticias Telemundo Investiga published in May found how, despite mobility restrictions at the border, Mexican drug traffickers have continued to supply drugs to the United States. 

Since March 20, the Governments of the United States and Mexico agreed to implement a restriction that allows only essential travel from one country to another across the land border, as a measure to face the COVID-19 pandemic.

This measure

and, with them, thousands of drug shipments have stopped

.

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“Now that traffic has been reduced by 70%, authorities have more opportunity to check vehicles entering the country.

That is the most difficult problem for criminal organizations now, drug transportation, "Kyle Williamson, special agent in charge of the DEA Office in El Paso, Texas, told Noticias Telemundo Investiga.

[Why the 'war on drug trafficking' fails: 33 former Mexican narcos say dying 'is a relief']

According to the DEA, this decrease in the supply of drugs from Mexico, and the problems that the Mexican cartels are having in maintaining the flow of the distribution chain to the most important markets within the country,

drugs.

The DEA has also found that money laundering has been reduced.

There have been fewer bank transactions from accounts that are under surveillance, and they are noticing little cash movement.