() A superseding indictment unsealed Wednesday links the trafficking of fentanyl and other illegal drugs in the Midwest with the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico, federal prosecutors said.

High-ranking Sinaloa cartel members are among 26 defendants who face drug-conspiracy charges for their alleged involvement in shipping hundreds of kilograms of fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine through southern Illinois and the St. Louis area. Laundered proceeds flowed back to Mexico, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

“The extraordinary work of the St. Louis Field Division and their partners resulted in the seizure of more than 800 pounds of fentanyl and exposed a money laundering network that pushed millions in cartel profits through U.S. banks,” Drug Enforcement Administrator Terrance Cole said in a news release. “This is not a street-corner operation it is a cartel pipeline that has flooded the Midwest.”

Prosecutors say the DEA and its partners arrested 15 defendants in a nationwide operation. According to court documents, the drug-trafficking conspiracy central to the indictment occurred between January 2020 and July 2025.

Two defendants, Mexican nationals, are also charged with narcoterrorism. It wasn’t immediately clear which defendants were in custody.

Wednesday’s announcement about the Illinois-Mexico drug connection comes as the Trump administration has designated the Sinaloa cartel a terrorist organization.