Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel have announced the seizure of over $509 million in illegal drugs.
Bondi and Patel announced the seizure during a press conference on Wednesday, saying the Coast Guard interdicted almost 45,000 pounds of cocaine and 3,800 pounds of marijuana worth over $509 million.
According to Bondi, Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación and the Sinaloa Cartel were both “heavily tied” to these drug shipments.
“This is a major blow to their financial operations and their efforts to distribute drugs throughout our country. It’s an example of a prosecutor-led, intelligent, driven approach to stopping these criminal enterprises in their tracks,” Bondi said.
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The Department of State designated Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación and the Sinaloa Cartel as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists on Feb. 20.
Eleven prosecutions, which are currently sealed, are ongoing as a result of the drug seizure, Bondi said.
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“This cocaine would have been distributed throughout our country and perhaps throughout our world,” she added. “These defendants will be held accountable for bringing this poison into our country. I always say, if we can save one life, one life, we have done amazing work, and today we have saved thousands and thousands of lives as a result of this incredible cooperation.”
Patel said the operation sends a message to cartels: “They are no longer going to be free to roam.”
“We are going to dismantle the next-man-up theory that has been breeding in these Mexican cartels for generations. No more,” Patel said. “There is no lethal force on planet Earth that is responsible for an overdose death of an American citizen every seven minutes, more so than these federal terrorist organizations, foreign terrorist organizations.”
A Coast Guard representative said during the press conference that the operation was 11 days long and involved crew from the United States Coast Guard Cutter James.
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