United States Drug Enforcement Administration

WASHINGTON, DC (September 8, 2025) – Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced the results of a week-long operational surge aimed at dismantling the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the world’s most violent and powerful drug cartels, responsible for flooding the United States with fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin.

In February, the Trump Administration designated the Sinaloa Cartel, along with seven other groups, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The Sinaloa Cartel remains one of the most significant threats to public safety, public health and our national security.  DEA is committed to breaking their command, control, and distribution networks. 

From August 25 through August 29, 2025, DEA agents across 23 domestic field divisions and seven foreign regions carried out coordinated enforcement actions that resulted in:

• Arrests: 617
  • Drug Seizures:
    • 480 kilograms of fentanyl powder,
    • 714,707 counterfeit pills,
    • 2,209 kilograms of methamphetamine,
    • 7,469 kilograms of cocaine, and
    • 16.55 kilograms of heroin
  • Currency Seizures: $11,111,483
  • Assets seized: $1,697,313
  • Firearms: 420

“These results demonstrate the full weight of DEA’s commitment to protecting the American people,” said DEA Administrator Terrance Cole. “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."

Locally, the DEA Washington Division reported that the operations conducted in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) resulted in 25 arrests and the seizure of 41 firearms, over $350,000 in money and assets, and 378 kilograms of illicit drugs including counterfeit pills, cocaine, fentanyl powder, marijuana, MDA/MDMA, Meth, and PCP.

DEA Washington Division Special Agent in Charge Christopher Goumenis stated, “Illegal drugs and firearms claim lives. Foreign criminals, such as those in the Sinaloa Cartel, are in our area and pose one of the most serious threats to public safety and national security through drug distribution, money laundering, human smuggling, and the perpetuation of violence. The dedicated men and women of the DEA, along with our law enforcement partners, are fully committed to protecting the families, children, and visitors of the DMV. We are actively working to clean the streets and combat violence by launching significant operations aimed at safeguarding our neighborhoods from escalating violence and the devastating impact of harmful drugs.”

There are tens of thousands of Sinaloa members, associates, and facilitators operating worldwide, in at least 40 countries who are responsible for the production, manufacturing, distribution, and operations related to trafficking dangerous and deadly synthetic drugs. 

This coordinated action was a combination of DEA’s increased focus on enforcement, intelligence, and domestic and international collaboration, utilizing every resource in DEA’s arsenal to degrade the Sinaloa Cartel’s command and control.

This surge reflects DEA’s unwavering commitment to confronting the fentanyl crisis and dismantling the cartels responsible for it. DEA continues to take decisive actions to protect American families and communities.

As part of a larger whole-of-government approach to dismantling the Sinaloa Cartel and protecting U.S. communities, DEA is committed to working with the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) and other federal partners to ensure current and future operations advance broader U.S. efforts to combat designated terrorist organizations and transnational organized crime.

# # #