Federal authorities have broken up a drug trafficking ring tied to the Sinaloa Cartel that used Phoenix as a collection point to funnel fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine into Kansas. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas announced on September 22 that 15 people have pleaded guilty in the case.
Prosecutors said the operation involved moving drugs from pickup locations to communities across Kansas. According to court records, traffickers traveled from Wichita to Phoenix and other locations once every few weeks to collect drugs in large volumes before driving back to Kansas, where they would distribute the substances.
Cartel pipeline
According to Arizona’s Family, investigators identified Euriel Talavera, 32, of Wichita, as the operation’s ringleader. Talavera is said to have maintained regular communication with members of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico while the operation went on.
The investigation began in December 2022 through a Homeland Security Task Force that ultimately built the case. Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI and Homeland Security Investigations, along with the Wichita Police Department, worked jointly to trace the pipeline back to the Sinaloa Cartel.
Fentanyl intercepted
One major investigation, specifically highlighted by prosecutors, involved a planned shipment of 160,000 counterfeit Percocet pills containing fentanyl. Law enforcement learned about plans to bring the pills into Wichita and arranged surveillance…