NM drug trafficking ring linked to Sinaloa cartel

Members of a major drug trafficking and money laundering Albuquerque organization recently named in an indictment had connections to the deadly Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico, federal officials said Friday. Drug Enforcement Administration special agent Keith Brown said that the 15 men named in a 29-count federal indictment unsealed last week worked as a large-scale marijuana and cocaine distributor for the violent cartel. "This was a huge organization that had a lot of impact on drug sales in Albuquerque," said Brown. "These kinds of organizations are what feed the cartels." The indictment stems from a multi-agency, nine-month investigation into the major criminal empire that federal officials said also operated in parts of Texas and Florida. According to the indictment, the 15 men were part of a group that distributed cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana between May 2011 and January 2012. But Brown said authorities believe it had been operating for several years...more