Overview
- Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Thursday that a Justice Department indictment charged 81 alleged members of Los Baja Deo and law enforcement arrested 70 of them in a multiagency sweep.
- Prosecutors say the group began trafficking in 2021 and distributed at least 340 kilograms of fentanyl and 2,200 kilograms of cocaine, generating roughly $49 million in proceeds.
- Authorities accuse the network of using murders, drive-by shootings, kidnappings and assaults to protect its trade and say investigators seized 21 firearms and charged 21 defendants with firearms offenses.
- A long-sought Dominican suspect, Erick Randhiel Mosquea Polanco, was extradited from Colombia to San Juan to face narcotics and money‑laundering charges while related operations in Ecuador produced arrests and major seizures.
- Officials say the investigation remains active, federal prosecutors are seeking to forfeit about $49.7 million in assets, and residents of Mayagüez may see reduced violence as prosecutions move forward.