A 36-year-old Salem man was arrested April 28 as part of what U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi described as the "largest fentanyl bust" in the Drug Enforcement Administration's history.

Bondi said May 6 the man was leading a drug trafficking organization across several states. He was arrested along with 15 others.

They face charges of conspiracy, distribution of 400 grams or more of fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

A federal grand jury on April 24 indicted more than a dozen of the people arrested.

Bondi alleged the organization was connected to the Sinaloa Cartel, which is known for being a major producer and distributor for fentanyl and operates from Mexico.

DEA agents conducted a "coordinated takedown" on April 28 across five states, according to a motion for detention filed by a U.S. district attorney. Arrests were made in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Oregon and Nevada, the motion said.

DEA agents recovered more than 4 million fentanyl-laced pills, about $4.5 million in cash, 79 pounds of methamphetamine, 4.5 kilograms of heroine, 7.5 kilograms of cocaine, 11.5 kilograms of fentanyl powder, about 41 weapons and seven vehicles, according to the motion.

In Salem, agents seized more than $2.8 million in cash, jewelry valued at about $50,000 and a Mercedes AMG and Ford F-150 valued at about $150,000.

“With him, they got millions of dollars cash, cars, but the drugs were in Albuquerque, Phoenix and Utah,” Bondi said of the Salem man arrested. “That’s how insulated these drug dealer cartel leaders make themselves.”

Bondi said if convicted, the people arrested will remain in American prisons rather than being deported.

The DEA had been investigating the organization since 2024, the motion said.

The organization was structured around the Salem man "receiving orders for drugs from drug customers and dispatching couriers to deliver the drugs," the motion said.

The attorney alleged the Salem man coordinated the couriers' daily schedules to make bulk deliveries across several metropolitan areas.

The Salem man faces additional charges over allegations of illegally entering the country after having been previously deported, unlawful employment as an undocumented worker and conspiracy to harbor undocumented migrants.

U.S. District Attorney of New Mexico Ryan Ellison said the man had been removed from the country twice before and had direct ties to the cartel.

It was not immediately clear where in Salem the man was arrested or where he lived.

Records show the man was booked in the Multnomah County Jail in Portland on April 28 and was released to U.S. Marshals on April 30. He was being held at the Sheridan Federal Correctional Institution.