BREAKING: DEA arrests 23 suspected drug traffickers with links to Sinaloa Cartel

The Drug Enforcement Administration said it will charge 20 residents of Sunland Park and Anthony, New Mexico with drug trafficking and money laundering charges.

The suspects allegedly have ties to the Sinaloa Drug Cartel.

The 16-month investigation targeted a drug trafficking organization allegedly led by Luis Angel Briseno Lopez, a Mexican National believed to be operating in Juarez. Briseno-Lopez has not been arrested, officials said.

20 people accused of working for Briseno-Lopez were arrested during DEA raids Friday morning. Another three were previously arrested and five are considered fugitives.

The suspects are accused of smuggling heroin, meth and cocaine from Mexico to Texas, New Mexico, Kentucky, Illinois and Kansas.