The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reported the results of its year-long Operation Last Mile this week, touting millions of fentanyl pills and pounds of fentanyl power, methamphetamine, firearms and cash seized, alongside thousands of arrests made.
Operation Last Mile was a targeted approach to dismantling the Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels of Mexico, largely credited for the vast majority of the fentanyl and methamphetamine often discussed in epidemic terms for the nation. Between May 1, 2022 and May 1, 2023, federal, state and local law enforcement partners conducted 1,436 investigations that led to 3,337 arrests of operatives, associates and distributors for the cartels. Nearly 44 million fentanyl pills and 6,500 pounds of fentanyl powder alone were seized, coupled with more than 91,000 pounds of methamphetamine, nearly 8,500 firearms and more than $100 million in cash.
These investigations also heavily tapped into social media and encrypted communications platforms, revealing the significant role these apps now play in moving drugs. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Wire and Wickr were all utilized at some point.
“The Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels use multi-city distribution networks, violent local street gangs, and individual dealers across the United States to flood American communities with fentanyl and methamphetamine, drive addiction, fuel violence, and kill Americans,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said. “What is also alarming—American social media platforms are the means by which they do so. The Cartels use social media and encrypted platforms to run their operations and reach out to victims, and when their product kills Americans, they simply move on to try to victimize the millions of other Americans who are social media users.”
The DEA added that Operation Last Mile showed that violent local street gangs, criminal groups and individuals across the United States acted in service to the Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels, all to drive drugs deeper into the country and to fuel addiction. As of April 2023, 28 members and associates of the Sinaloa Cartel, including leaders of the Chapitos Cartel, were indicted by the Justice Department for their alleged roles in this spread of drugs and violence.