The Mexican Armed Forces detained three members of the Sinaloa Cartel while transporting 42 kilograms of fentanyl and seven kilograms of heroin in Baja California, on the border with the United States, according to security sources on Friday.
The detainees are Tenorio Zepeda, 51 years old, Polimnea Urania Molina, 48 years old, and a 17-year-old teenager, who belong to the Pacific Cartel or Sinaloa Cartel, added the sources, which estimated the value of the seized drugs at 300 million pesos.
Separately, in an official statement, the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) reported the detention of three people in the municipality of Tecate, on the highway from Mexicali to Tijuana, all border cities with California in the United States. The detention involved elements of the Secretary of National Defense (Defensa), National Guard (GN), Secretary of the Navy (Semar), Attorney General's Office (FGR), and the SSPC, who managed to retain the three individuals while they were in a vehicle that attempted to evade authorities.
The agents found the drugs inside the vehicle, so they were placed at the disposal of a Public Ministry agent, who will integrate the investigation file of the case and define their legal situation.
"After an information exchange, it was learned that the detainees are linked to a criminal group operating in the northern region of the country," stated the communiqué.
The arrest is significant due to the Sinaloa Cartel, which is one of the six Mexican groups that the United States designated as terrorist in February, along with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), the Gulf Cartel, the Northeast Cartel, La Familia Michoacana, and the United Cartels.
The Government of Mexico deployed 10,000 elements of the National Guard on February 5 for 'Operation Northern Border' as part of the agreement to avoid U.S. tariffs, and since then has detained more than 1,400 people and confiscated nearly 22.5 tons of drugs.
