16 indicted in California in drug-smuggling probe

Sixteen people were indicted and hundreds of pounds of cocaine seized in a sting against Mexico’s notorious Sinaloa drug cartel,California Attorney General Jerry Brown said.

The drugs were often smuggled to Calexico,California,in hidden vehicle compartments from the sprawling,nearby industrial border city of Mexicali,Mexico,Brown said on on Wednesday.

They were allegedly distributed in large shipments throughout the United States and Canada,in cities that included Atlanta,Chicago and New York.

The suspects indicted by an Imperial County grand jury were from Southern California and Mexicali,Mexico,though four were not named to avoid compromising the investigation. Four were in custody in Southern California,while the other 12 were at large,authorities said.

The seizure of 420 pounds of cocaine,136 pounds of marijuana and USD 1.7 million in cash are a result of Operation Silver Fox,an investigation that began in January.

After announcing the indictments,Brown met with his counterpart in Mexico’s Baja California state,Rommel Moreno,who reaffirmed concerns that California’s budget crunch will result in the release of prison inmates to Mexico.