PIERRE S.D. (MITCHELLNOW) South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley and US Attorney for the District of South Dakota Alison Ramsdell issued the following statement in reaction to Governor Noem’s assertion that drug cartels are operating on South Dakota’s Native-American reservations:
“The vast majority of Methamphetamine and Fentanyl found in South Dakota originates from our southern border. The cartels are actively engaged in moving these illicit drugs across the southern border which then find their way into our South Dakota communities.
We both appreciate how our respective state and federal law enforcement agencies are approaching drug interdiction and investigations through our strong joint drug task forces comprised of our tribal, local, state and federal partners.
Just one example of the excellent work our drug task forces are doing to dismantle cartel activity in South Dakota is ‘Operation Say Uncle’ which ultimately targeted two Sinaloan Cartel members – Luis Antonio Gonzalez-Meza and Javier Reyna. The investigation discovered that 80-100 pounds of methamphetamine were distributed throughout South Dakota and resulted in almost 50 federal and state indictments.”