PHOENIX, AZ (AZFamily) — Federal authorities have dismantled a Sinaloa Cartel-linked drug ring that used Phoenix as a pickup point to funnel fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine into Kansas.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas announced Tuesday that 15 people have pleaded guilty to charges tied to the operation, which authorities say distributed the drugs across Kansas on behalf of the Mexican cartel.
How the operation worked
Court documents show that every few weeks, traffickers drove from Wichita to Phoenix and other locations to pick up large quantities of drugs before returning to Kansas for distribution.
Ringleader Euriel Talavera, 32, of Wichita, stayed in regular contact with cartel members in Mexico throughout the operation, investigators said…