The Justice Department announced charges against over a dozen people linked to a Mexico-based drug trafficking network operating throughout the country that was run out of the South Carolina state prison system.
The operation, tied to the Sinaloa cartel, has been present in South Carolina since at least 2011 and has spread into the Carolinas. Drug deals were coordinated by prisoners in the custody of the South Carolina Department of Corrections, U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling said Tuesday.
The indictment unsealed Tuesday revealed an additional 16 defendants accused of drug trafficking and money laundering in addition to 18 defendants charged in April 2026 and two defendants charged in July 2025. Stirling said that nine of the defendants were illegal immigrants.
“Nothing will stop the Trump Administration’s commitment to protecting the American people from lethal drugs,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Thanks to the work of the Homeland Security Task Force, the people of South Carolina are safer today than they were two years ago. The Department of Justice will continue dismantling drug trafficking networks and delivering justice for victims and their families.”
Federal agents with the DEA seized 346 kilograms of fentanyl, 23 kilograms of methamphetamine, 70 kilograms of cocaine, 34 pounds of marijuana, 43 firearms, and over $2.8 million in cash over the course of the investigation. The drugs were transported across the southern border, according to prosecutors.
Investigators seized 15 luxury vehicles including two Rolls Royces, a Lamborghini, and an Aston Martin tied to the suspected drug and money laundering operation. Prosecutors additionally placed liens on 17 properties across South Carolina and Georgia believed to be connected to the operation.
Stirling said during Tuesday’s charging announcement that prisoners in South Carolina would obtain contraband cell phones which they would then use to coordinate with drug suppliers from Mexico.
“They would coordinate shipment and delivery of these drugs [with] organization leaders in Mexico with stash house operations and couriers in the Midlands,” he said. “That is a problem that we’ve talked about for over a decade now. These people are arrested, they’re sent to prison, and they continue their criminal ways from behind bars.”
Stirling urged the FCC to adopt proposed regulations that would allow the jamming of contraband cell phone service at federal and state prisons.
The case has been investigated by the FBI, DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, and numerous law enforcement agencies across Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
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