ATLANTA, Ga. – The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Atlanta has a new tool in its fight against one of Mexico’s most notorious cartels.

In May, the DEA Atlanta Field Division inaugurated a new lab designed to streamline the processing of federal drug seizures throughout Georgia. The leading DEA agent in Atlanta has noted that this facility is enhancing the efficiency of agents as they target the violent “Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG).”

Previously, the DEA in Atlanta would have to bring in chemists from other city laboratories for drug testing, which would take a few days. With the lab now on-site, the agency can conduct drug tests in mere minutes.

“Before, it might take a day or two for a chemist to arrive,” said Chad Chumbley, DEA Supervisory Forensic Chemist. “Now, we can respond immediately and provide assistance.”

“Their primary motivation is money,” Murphy stated. “They have no concern for the harm, the destruction of lives, or the suffering they inflict. It doesn’t trouble them at all.”

The Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Atlanta Field Division estimates a recent meth seizure to be worth more than $4 million. (Fox News)

CJNG has risen to power ever since the arrest of multiple high-ranking members of the rival Sinaloa Cartel.

In 2023, in a significant operation, El Chapo’s son, Ovidio Guzmán López, was captured in Mexico. The following year, authorities apprehended Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán Lopez, another of El Chapo’s sons, in El Paso, Texas.

“The intense conflict and warfare occurring in Mexico revolve around one central issue: controlling the gateway and entry points to the U.S. determines the victor,” Murphy explained. “CJNG’s power is on the rise, and we are concentrating our efforts to ensure they do not become too dominant.”

The operation is part of the DEA’s nationwide effort to crackdown on CJNG. 

On Monday, DEA agents stopped more than 175 pounds of cocaine linked to the cartel from crossing the southern border into the United States. The next day, agents in Houston seized more than 28 pounds of cocaine and $470,000 from suspected CJNG members. 

“Every little bit counts. Every seizure counts. We’re targeting the entire network from facilitators, producers, transporters, money launderers — anybody that we come across that’s related to CJNG, we are pursuing,” said Brian Leordo, DEA Houston Field Division Deputy Special Agent in Charge.