DEA Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Murphy stated that to hold drug cartels accountable, the DEA, along with the Treasury Department, will "hit the cartels’ criminal operations where it hurts the most – their profits." Murphy made this statement in a June 20 press release.

"Denying drug cartels the profits earned from distributing poison in our communities is an essential tool in DEA's efforts to combat these drug cartels," said J. Murphy, according to U.S. Department of Justice.

Rodolfo Maldonado-Bustos and Euclides Camacho-Goicochea, leaders in the La Nueva Familia Michoacana drug cartel, were charged with intent to import and distribute heroin into the United States, according to the press report.

DEA Special Agent in Charge Robert Murphy | DEA

In 2017, $580,000 of proceeds from trafficking operations of the La Nueva Familia cartel was seized by law enforcement in Atlanta, according to the press release.

According to Insight Crime, 4.5 tons of pure fentanyl and 434 tons of methamphetamine are produced in Mexico per year "in order to meet the demand of the US consumption market." The chemical components cost between $9 million and $22.5 million for fentanyl and between $83.3 million and $126.5 million for methamphetamine. Investigations show that the chemical precursors to these synthetic drugs have been imported from China through companies such as the Zheng drug trafficking organizations.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was founded in 1973 to ensure proper implementation of US laws regarding controlled substances and to bring entities involved in production, distribution or trafficking of such substances to either criminal or civil justice, according to its website. Murphy is the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division.