60 members of a San Diego meth ring with connections to the Sinola Cartel were indicted on federal drug trafficking charges along with money laundering and firearms offenses. The prosecutors say that the members of this ring worked to smuggle over a thousand pounds of methamphetamine across the border then distribute to thousands of “sub-distributors”’ across San Diego County, Australia, and New Zealand.
The investigation into this ring started in April 2020 as Operation Crystal Hydra. Investigators conducted “extensive physical surveillance” on this ring that took six months to gather communications of the network’s members and to track their locations and movements. The U.S Attorney’s Office and CBP announced the seizure of over 220 pounds of methamphetamine and other drugs, 90 firearms, and over $250,000 in cash.
This comes on the heels of a massive increase of drug trafficking at the Southern Border, which many attribute to VP Harris’s hands-off and lackadaisical approach to the border crisis, which continues to get worse under her watch as the “border czar”. Nationwide, drug seizures at the border were up 18 percent from May 2021 to April 2021, and an overall 56 percent increase from last year. Border Patrol also saw a 53 percent increase in meth seizures, 7 percent in heroin, and 9 percent in fentanyl. Many cartels have seen the weak response from the White House as an advantage to ramp up operations crossing the border, as evidenced by the increase in narcotics seizures. This also comes as unaccompanied minors and those attempting entry through the Southern Border continue to remain at high numbers, despite there being an overall decrease. Border Patrol saw a one percent increase in people attempting to cross the Southwest Border.
The Border Patrol statistics can be found here
