RIVERSIDE, Calif. (NEXSTAR) – Authorities showed off a small mountain of drugs Wednesday after investigators made a record-breaking bust in Southern California.
The haul included 2,224 pounds of meth tied to the Sinaloa cartel, sister station KTLA reports, the largest domestic meth seizure in Drug Enforcement Administration history.
Investigators also found 893 pounds of cocaine and 13 pounds of heroin.
“This is enough dope to provide a dose of meth for every man, women and child in the United States and Mexico,” DEA Acting Administrator Timothy Shea said during a press conference. “Study after study shows that where there is meth addiction, there is also an uptick in violent crime, including robberies, assaults and murders.”
The seizure was the result of numerous raids under “Operation Crystal Shield,” a DEA effort announced in February of this year to target methamphetamine transportation hubs that include Atlanta, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Phoenix, and St. Louis.
“Together, these DEA Field Divisions accounted for more than 75 percent of methamphetamine seized in the U.S. in 2019,” according to a February news release announcing the operation.