Feds Arrest Family-Run Drug Ring with Sinaloa Cartel Ties in Southern California
Federal authorities have arrested four members of a Southern California family for operating a drug and firearms trafficking network with alleged links to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel. The defendants, identified as three brothers and a nephew from the Antelope Valley, face 29 criminal charges including trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine, and illegal weapons. Prosecutors state that the operation ran from February 2024 to December 2025, utilizing encrypted messages and in-person meetings to coordinate sales. The alleged ringleader, José Luis Salazar-Cruz, sold firearms to undercover agents, including an unregistered ghost gun, while another member sourced drugs directly from cartel associates in Tijuana and Mexicali. Authorities are still searching for a fifth suspect, José Ángel López Paniagua. The indictment highlights the group's role in distributing significant quantities of narcotics and dangerous weapons across the region, demonstrating a direct supply chain from Mexican cartel members to local distributors in California.
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Feds Arrest Family-Run Drug Ring with Sinaloa Cartel Ties in Southern California
Federal authorities have arrested four members of a Southern California family for operating a drug and firearms trafficking network with alleged links to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel. The defendants, identified as three brothers and a nephew from the Antelope Valley, face 29 criminal charges including trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine, and illegal weapons. Prosecutors state that the operation ran from February 2024 to December 2025, utilizing encrypted messages and in-person meetings to coordinate sales. The alleged ringleader, José Luis Salazar-Cruz, sold firearms to undercover agents, including an unregistered ghost gun, while another member sourced drugs directly from cartel associates in Tijuana and Mexicali. Authorities are still searching for a fifth suspect, José Ángel López Paniagua. The indictment highlights the group's role in distributing significant quantities of narcotics and dangerous weapons across the region, demonstrating a direct supply chain from Mexican cartel members to local distributors in California.
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