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Arrests Made In Large California Drug Trafficking Operation
SAN DIEGO -- San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has filed charges against 28 alleged cartel members accused of running a cross-border methamphetamine smuggling ring.
Dumanis joined agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency to announce the charges, the result of a two-year investigation dubbed Operation Knight Stalker.
They targeted alleged members of the Knights Templar, a splinter group of the more established La Familia Michoacan cartel. In all, warrants were issued for 30 people accused of smuggling hundreds of pounds of meth into southern California.
Dumanis would not discuss the role each defendant is alleged to have played in the cartel, but the DEA did comment.
“The players that were taken into custody are mid- to high-level traffickers. These are people that bring massive amounts of drugs into the country. These are people that coordinate loads of massive amounts of drugs," said DEA Agent Steve Tomaski.
Fifteen of the 28 people charged on Friday have been arrested, and the rest are being sought by authorities.