[VT Washington, September 8, 2025] The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has announced significant results from a week-long international enforcement surge targeting the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the world’s most violent and powerful drug-trafficking organizations.
The coordinated operation, carried out between August 25 and August 29 across 23 domestic divisions and seven foreign regions, led to 617 arrests and the seizure of massive quantities of narcotics, cash, and firearms.
According to DEA figures, agents confiscated 480 kilograms of fentanyl powder, more than 714,000 counterfeit pills, 2,209 kilograms of methamphetamine, 7,469 kilograms of cocaine, and 55 kilograms of heroin. Authorities also seized $11.1 million in cash, $1.7 million in assets, and 420 firearms.
DEA Administrator Terrance Cole said the operation highlights the agency’s unrelenting commitment to dismantling the cartel. “Every kilogram of poison seized, every dollar stripped from the cartels, and every arrest we make represents lives saved and communities defended. DEA will not relent until the Sinaloa Cartel is dismantled from top to bottom,” he said in a statement.
The Sinaloa Cartel, designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. government earlier this year, is considered a major driver of the fentanyl crisis that has devastated communities across the United States. With tens of thousands of members and associates operating in at least 40 countries, the cartel oversees large-scale production, trafficking, and distribution of synthetic drugs.
Officials emphasized that this operation was part of a whole-of-government approach to combating transnational organized crime. The DEA worked alongside the Homeland Security Task Force and other federal partners to weaken the cartel’s command, control, and global distribution networks.
