Did Hundreds of Sinaloa Cartel Members Really Get Arrested in New England?

In August, federal agents arrested 171 people across New England in what they hailed as a crushing blow to the Sinaloa Cartel. But behind the bold claims, the reality looks a little different.

In late August 2025, federal agents swept across New England in a massive operation targeting drug traffickers tied to Mexico’s notorious Sinaloa Cartel. The week-long crackdown led to 171 arrests across the region, with officials touting it as a “major blow” against cartel-driven drug networks.

Extended nationwide, this was part of a drag net which allegedly captured 617 suspects tied to the Sinaloa Cartel within three days.

In New Hampshire, the small city of Franklin became a focal point, where 27 people were arrested in a coordinated two-day bust. The DEA’s New England Division proudly displayed over 500 pounds of seized narcotics, including fentanyl pressed into counterfeit pills, crystal methamphetamine, and heroin – drugs allegedly “directly linked to the Sinaloa Cartel.”