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Inside Massive DEA Raid Targeting Drug Cartel

Associated Press

   CHANTILLY, VIRGINIA - In the darkness, the team suits up quietly,
   putting on their helmets and tactical gear. Federal agents lug
   battering rams, bolt cutters and heavy weaponry by foot up a hill on a
   residential California street that's softly aglow from street lamps.
   Then the agents turn onto the walkway of their target's home.

   "Police! Search warrant!" one officer yells as agents bang on the front
   door. "Police search warrant!" And then three thunderous bangs as the
   task force breaks down the front door.

   Moments later, a reputed member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel,
   known as CJNG, is walked out in handcuffs.

   In early-morning raids Wednesday, agents fanned out across the United
   States, culminating a six-month investigation with the primary goal of
   dismantling the upper echelon of CJNG and hoping to get closer to
   capturing its leader, one of the most wanted men in America. There's a
   $10 million reward for the arrest of Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera.

   The gang controls between one-third and two-thirds of the U.S. drug
   market. It is so violent that members leave piles of bodies in streets
   and hanging from overpasses in Mexico, and they fill the city of
   Guadalajara with mass graves. They carry machine guns and hand
   grenades. They once used rocket launchers to shoot down a Mexican
   military helicopter.

   More than 600 people have been arrested during the operation in recent
   months, more than 15,000 kilos of meth was seized and nearly $20
   million was taken as search and arrest warrants were executed. About
   250 were arrested Wednesday.

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