Overview
- A federal judge in Los Mochis linked Iván Valerio Sainz Salazar, known as “El Mantecas,” to criminal proceedings and ordered him held at CEFERESO No. 8 in Guasave.
- Authorities identify Sainz Salazar as a key operator for the Beltrán Leyva organization, with his arrest carried out in Badiraguato, Sinaloa, on January 18.
- Three alleged accomplices — Israel Páez Quintero, José Almir Pacheco Quiroga, and Jesús Gómez Soto — were also charged and placed in pretrial detention.
- Prosecutors listed suspected simple possession of methamphetamine and fentanyl hydrochloride, unlawful carrying of firearms with an aggravating factor for possessing more than two, and possession of cartridges and magazines reserved for the armed forces.
- The operation yielded three rifles, a machine gun, ammunition and magazines, 14,594 fentanyl tablets, methamphetamine, and ballistic vests and plates, which were logged as evidence.