EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Police in Juarez, Mexico, have arrested an alleged member of the Sinaloa cartel in possession of 66 pounds of synthetic drugs and opioids.
Chihuahua state police officers arrested Jose Paul Quiñones Ramos, 35, as he drove a car loaded with drugs along the busy Eje Vial Juan Gabriel Avenue, the state Attorney General’s Office said in a statement on Wednesday.
Quiñones allegedly was in possession of a .38-caliber gun; a search of his black 2017 Nissan Sentra resulted in the seizure of 41 small plastic bags filled with crystal meth, a bag with more than 10 pounds of fentanyl, a bag with a chemical paste used in the manufacture of fentanyl, and a bag of heroin, according to the statement. Police also found a stash of ammonium chloride, a chemical used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals such as cough and cold medications.
The state police handed Quiñones and the drugs to Mexican federal investigators for further questioning. State officials on Wednesday told reporters in Juarez that Quinones is originally from Sinaloa and was arrested on drug charges in 2017 and 2021.
(Juarez freelance photojournalist Roberto Delgado contributed to this report.)