Sinaloa cartel leader arrested as Feds seize $800K in Utah

Cash and drugs seized in Santa Fe, New Mexico as part of a 5-state drug bust which included Utah. Photo: DEA

Utah was one of five states targeted in a record-breaking DEA operation that seized three million fentanyl pills and 72 pounds of methamphetamine, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

LAYTON, Utah — A sweeping federal drug operation targeting the Sinaloa cartel led to the arrest of 16 individuals and record-setting fentanyl seizures across five states — including nearly $800,000 in cash recovered in Layton, Utah. Among those arrested is Heriberto Salazar Amaya, identified by authorities as the leader of one of the largest and most dangerous drug trafficking organizations in U.S. history.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced this week that the coordinated effort, spearheaded by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), dismantled a fentanyl trafficking network responsible for distributing millions of lethal doses across the western United States. The seizure in Layton included approximately $780,000 in U.S. currency and a Dodge TRX Mammoth pickup truck valued at about $150,000, both tied to cartel activity.

“This historic drug seizure, led by the DEA, is a significant blow against the Sinaloa Cartel that removes poison from our streets and protects American citizens from the scourge of fentanyl,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said.

Salazar Amaya, 36, now faces multiple felony charges including conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, illegal reentry after deportation, hiring unauthorized aliens, and conspiracy to harbor unauthorized aliens. He is among 16 defendants indicted in the case, which also resulted in major seizures in New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon. In New Mexico alone, agents confiscated nearly 400 kilograms of fentanyl pills, 49 firearms (including “ghost guns”), and over $600,000 in cash.

“This wasn’t just a bust—it was a battlefield victory against a terrorist-backed network pumping death into our cities,” said DEA Acting Administrator Robert Murphy, calling it the agency’s largest-ever seizure of fentanyl pills.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison added, “By dismantling one of the largest and most dangerous fentanyl trafficking organizations in U.S. history, we have removed millions of lethal doses from our streets and sent a clear message: those who profit from poisoning our citizens will be held accountable.”

The full list of defendants includes individuals from multiple states, several of whom face additional charges related to fentanyl distribution, firearm possession, and immigration violations.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice against illegal immigration, to eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and to protect communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.