ICE arrests Sinaloa cartel member carrying weapons, ammo: sources

A member of the Sinaloa cartel was arrested in Texas by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over the weekend and was found to be carrying three rifles, two pistols and more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition, sources tell Fox News. 

The individual — who is from Mexico — was taken into custody in El Paso, the sources added. Across the U.S., ICE operations this past weekend resulted in more than 1,000 arrests.

The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said last year that the U.S. is facing the “most dangerous and deadly drug crisis” in its history with fentanyl and methamphetamine flowing across the border — and that the “Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels are at the heart of this crisis.” 

“They operate clandestine labs in Mexico where they manufacture these drugs and then utilize their vast distribution networks to transport the drugs into the United States,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram wrote in her agency’s annual National Drug Threat Assessment.

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“The Sinaloa Cartel also uses border tunnels to cross drugs into the United States undetected,” she added. “Most of the tunnels are not built by the cartel but are part of the border cities’ sewage and water systems.” 

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Last week, alleged Sinaloa cartel cell leader Octavio Leal-Hernandez, who “is believed responsible for trafficking large amounts of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and marijuana into the United States from Mexico,” entered a not guilty plea during a federal court appearance following his extradition from Mexico, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California said. 

The alleged Sinaloa member’s arrest in El Paso comes as reports are also emerging that the Trump administration is pushing ICE to increase the number of arrests per day from a few hundred to between at least 1,200 to 1,500 people.  

Citing four sources who spoke on condition of anonymity about a purported internal call with ICE officials on Saturday, The Washington Post first reported about the new objective, categorizing the 1,200 to 1,500 daily targets as “quotas,” although a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told Fox News, “Goals is the correct phrasing.” 

Fox News’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.