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U.S. says it coordinated with Mexico to take down drug trafficking operation

Fentanyl seized at the Port of Nogales
Jerry Glaser/U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Fentanyl seized at the Port of Nogales in January 2019.

Mexico, in coordination with officials in the United States, has arrested the alleged leader of a major drug trafficking organization in Nogales, Sonora.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona said in a statement that cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico led to the takedown of a “prolific transnational drug trafficking organization” operating on the Arizona-Mexico border. They say the group is a significant fentanyl trafficker.

Last summer, the United States indicted several alleged members of the same group who they say were operating in Arizona.

In addition to arresting the group’s leader this month, Mexican officials also seized a large number of fentanyl pills in their operation in Nogales, Sonora.

The synthetic opioid is a leading cause of overdose deaths in the U.S.

Nina Kravinsky is a senior field correspondent covering stories about Sonora and the border from the Hermosillo, Mexico, bureau of KJZZ’s Fronteras Desk.