LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- Southern New Mexico law enforcement agencies say drug investigations in Dona Ana County are related to two Mexican drug cartels.
Authorities have confiscated more than $400,000 in four separate seizures as they investigate Mexican drug- and weapons-trafficking organizations.
Metro Narcotics Sgt. Bobby Holden says a narcotics agent and a sheriff's deputy with guns drawn stopped a Mexico-bound car on N.M. 273 in Sunland Park last week.
Holden says they found four men with two handguns and $40,000 in cash hidden in a floor compartment.
He says the men are being detained. Their names and citizenship have not been released.
Holden says cartels are conducting "obvious" forays into the local drug trade.
He says every bit of cocaine or marijuana that's sold comes from them, directly or indirectly.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
