Sixteen arrested in major fentanyl bust in western US

Sixteen people have been arrested and three million pills laced with fentanyl were seized in what US officials said Tuesday was one of the largest ever drug busts in the United States.

The operation, which spanned several western US states, "marks the most significant victory in our nation's fight against fentanyl and drug trafficking to date," Attorney General Pam Bondi said.

Among those arrested was a Sinaloa cartel leader, Heriberto Salazar Amaya, 36, a Mexican national, who was taken into custody in Salem, Oregon, Bondi said at a press conference.

ALSO READ: ‘Pain. Grief. Anger’: Families heartbroken as Trump backlash smashes adoption dreams

Asked whether any of those arrested would be deported to Mexico, Bondi said "I want them to stay in our prisons as long as possible."

"Most of these individuals, if convicted, will remain in American prisons, perhaps Alcatraz," the attorney general added in reference to the shuttered California prison that President Donald Trump said he wants to reopen.

The Justice Department said law enforcement officials seized more than 400 kilograms (880 pounds) of fentanyl pills, 11.5 kilos of fentanyl powder, 80 kilos of methamphetamine, 7.5 kilos of cocaine and 4.5 kilos of heroin.

"This case represents DEA's largest single seizure of fentanyl pills," said Robert Murphy, the acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The bust also netted $5 million in cash and 49 rifles and pistols.

Bondi said 75,000 Americans are dying each year because of fentanyl and it is the number one cause of death for people between the ages of 18 and 34 in the United States.

"They are flooding our cities with a weapon of mass destruction, fentanyl," she said.

Ryan Ellison, US attorney for the district of New Mexico, said the "sophisticated fentanyl and narcotics distribution network" spanned New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Utah.

Ellison said the 16 people arrested face various federal charges including conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and firearms offenses.