ICE apprehends suspected member of Sinaloa drug cartel in Texas, according to sources

In Texas, a member of the Sinaloa cartel was apprehended by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during the weekend and was discovered to possess three rifles, two handguns, and over 3,000 rounds of ammunition, according to sources from Fox News. 

The individual, who hails from Mexico, was seized in El Paso, as per the sources. Throughout the United States, ICE operations during the previous weekend led to over 1,000 apprehensions.

The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said last year that the U.S. is facing the “most dangerous and deadly drug crisis” in its history with fentanyl and methamphetamine flowing across the border — and that the “Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels are at the heart of this crisis.” 

“They operate clandestine labs in Mexico where they manufacture these drugs and then utilize their vast distribution networks to transport the drugs into the United States,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram wrote in her agency’s annual National Drug Threat Assessment.

ICE agents knock on the door of a residence during a multi-agency targeted enforcement operation in Chicago, Ill., on Sunday, Jan. 26. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Last week, alleged Sinaloa cartel cell leader Octavio Leal-Hernandez, who “is believed responsible for trafficking large amounts of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and marijuana into the United States from Mexico,” entered a not guilty plea during a federal court appearance following his extradition from Mexico, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California said. 

The alleged Sinaloa member’s arrest in El Paso comes as reports are also emerging that the Trump administration is pushing ICE to increase the number of arrests per day from a few hundred to between at least 1,200 to 1,500 people.  

An ICE agent waits in a vehicle during a multi-agency targeted enforcement operation in Chicago, Ill., on Sunday. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Citing four sources who spoke on condition of anonymity about a purported internal call with ICE officials on Saturday, The Washington Post first reported about the new objective, categorizing the 1,200 to 1,500 daily targets as “quotas,” although a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told Fox News, “Goals is the correct phrasing.” 

Fox News’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.