INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Authorities in Indianapolis say they've seized 5 tons of marijuana and $4.3 million in Indiana's largest drug bust ever.
Law enforcement officials say the bust last week halted a large drug distribution operation in Indianapolis and probably affected a Mexican drug cartel.
"This is going to have a profound impact," First Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler told The Indianapolis Star.
"This is one of those rare cases where you get both the drug proceeds and the actual product, so this organization has obviously suffered a significant setback, if not been eliminated entirely by a seizure of this nature," he said.
The seizure was the result of an investigation that began in March and culminated with the arrest of four men, officials said.
The financial impact on the Mexican cartel, which authorities suspect was the supplier of the marijuana and the ultimate destination of the seized cash, would be significant, U.S. Attorney Joe Hogsett said.
"Even being conservative, the cartel is not only out $4.3 million in proceeds that was on its way, but they've now lost the possibility of maybe $50 million in proceeds from the distribution of drugs," Hogsett said.
"This was significant because we got them both coming and going. The money was going, and we interdicted the drugs that were coming."
