In brief
- Pedro Inzunza Noriega and his son, alleged leaders of a Sinaloa Cartel faction, were indicted in California under narco-terrorism statutes.
- The charges follow a record fentanyl seizure in Sinaloa, as analysts trace how cartel-linked funds moved through stablecoins to Chinese suppliers.
- Blockchain analytics firms Chainalysis and TRM Labs have identified millions in crypto tied to fentanyl precursor purchases and laundering networks.
Pedro Inzunza Noriega and his son Pedro Inzunza Coronel, alleged leaders of the Beltrán Leyva Organization, or BLO, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, were indicted Monday on narco-terrorism and trafficking charges.
The indictment came in part because blockchain investigators have been tracing how cartel drug profits are being laundered through crypto.
Prosecutors in the Southern District of California say the two men reportedly helped lead one of the world’s largest fentanyl operations, trafficking tens of thousands of kilograms into the U.S, in a Tuesday statement.
Their indictment follows a December 2024 raid in Sinaloa that seized 1,500 kilograms of fentanyl, the largest single seizure of the drug to date.
While the DOJ case focuses on smuggling and violence, financial analysts have spent the past two years tracing how groups like the BLO have funneled fentanyl profits through stablecoins, like Tether’s USDT. Experts say traffickers have been using crypto wallets to move funds to Chinese brokers and chemical suppliers.
In a March report, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis tracked $5.5 million in stablecoin transfers from cartel-linked money couriers in the U.S. to Chinese manufacturers of fentanyl precursors.
The firm described the flow as part of a growing “on-chain fentanyl economy,” linking sales in American cities to crypto-facilitated supply lines abroad.
Blockchain intelligency firm TRM Labs has also documented how Mexican cartels use Chinese money laundering brokers to convert drug cash into stablecoins, which are then used to purchase chemicals or settle accounts.
The firm revealed in a January report that 97% of Chinese precursor suppliers surveyed across 26 cities accepted crypto.
Many of the same vendors have been linked to digital wallets flagged by the U.S. Treasury and OFAC for cartel-related activity.
“People need to stop talking about these things as siloed threats and start talking about the Chinese money-laundering networks facilitating all of it,” Ari Redbord, a former Treasury Department official and U.S. attorney, told Decrypt last month.
In prior cases, authorities have moved to sanction or seize wallets tied to these laundering efforts.
In September 2023, OFAC designated Ethereum addressescry linked to BLO associate Mario Jimenez Castro, who directed couriers to deposit fentanyl proceeds into crypto wallets before redistributing them to cartel leaders in Mexico.
Additional designations followed in October, when U.S. officials linked 17 more crypto addresses to Chinese suppliers and identified $3.7 million in related flows.
The DOJ’s indictment does not dwell on these digital transactions but brings new legal tools to bear.
The charges on the alleged cartel leaders invoke the foreign terrorist organization (FTO) designation signed into law by President Trump in January.
That designation makes it a federal crime to provide material support, including financial services, to cartel members, and allows the U.S. government to freeze associated assets, including crypto wallets.
“This indictment is what justice looks like when the full measure of the Department of Justice along with its law enforcement partners is brought to bear against the Sinaloa Cartel,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon, who also announced the creation of a dedicated Narco-Terrorism Unit.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
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