Operation Narco Polo nabs 60 suspected Sinaloa cartel operatives

CHICAGO (WLS) -- U.S. DEA agents from Chicago and San Diego announced charges against 60 alleged members and associates of the Sinaloa cartel, the Mexican cartel that supplies 80 percent of the cocaine and heroin on Chicago streets.

The arrests and indictments were the result of what federal agents called Operation Narco Polo. Among those charged in San Diego are several top cartel operatives who are also named in indictments here in Chicago, cases based on hundreds of wiretaps conducted by law enforcement in Southern California alone.

For decades the chairman of the board of the Sinaloa cartel was Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

Nearly one year ago, El Chapo was taken into custody by Mexican authorities at a beachside hideout. He is the lead defendant in an expansive Chicago prosecution and could be extradited here.

Friday in San Diego, federal prosecutors announced the second phase of the Sinaloa takedown. Indicted in this new case is El Chapo's son, Ivan Archivaldo Guzman-Salazar, known as "Chapito" and now listed by U.S. authorities as a fugitive.

Also charged Friday in San Diego and currently under indictment in Chicago is Mexico's current drug lord, Ismael Zambada Garcia, known as "El Mayo." He took over for El Chapo when he was arrested.

Zambada Garcia is also a fugitive in Mexico, according to U.S. drug agents. His four sons were also charged in Operation Narco Polo and one of them was arrested last November.

The investigation has been underway for three years and has consumed thousands of law enforcement hours cracking what is considered the most potent drug cartel on earth.