By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 3:17 PM on 31st October 2011 Officials seized thousands of pounds of narcotics with the arrest of 70 suspected drug smugglers in what is being described as a 'jaw-dropping' confiscation by authorities in Arizona. The suspected cartel in Sinaloa Mexico under Kingpin Joaquin 'El Champ' Guzman, is believed to handle 65 percent of all drugs transported illegally into the United States. 'This is one of the more substantial drug-smuggling operations going on right now. This is a billion-dollar drug trade organization linked to the cartel,' an official with the investigation told Reuters. Mexican kingpin: Joaquin 'El Champ' Guzman (left) of the suspected Sinaloa cartel is believed to handle 65 percent of all drugs transported illegally into the United States
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Thousands of pounds of narcotics were seized in Arizona with the arrest of 70 suspected smugglers
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The Mexican drug cartel accused is believed to handle 65 percent of all illegal drugs smuggled into the U.S.
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Tens of thousands have been killed in Mexican drug-related violence since 2006
In just a two-year battle, 5,000 people were killed, resulting in the @placeholder kingpin controlling coveted trafficking routes for their operations.