Thirty-six people have been charged in a federal case alleging a Mexico-based drug trafficking and money laundering organization supplied drugs to South Carolina. The Justice Department said nine of the charged were in the country illegally, and six defendants have pleaded guilty. Prosecutors described the operation as running in South Carolina since at least 2011, with hundreds of kilograms of fentanyl and cocaine supplied since at least 2021. Authorities said the drugs originated in Mexico and were transported across the U.S. southern border before being distributed in regions including the Lowcountry, Pee Dee, Grand Strand and Midlands. Prosecutors allege members repackaged and redistributed large quantities of fentanyl delivered by the organization. The DEA seized 346 kilograms of fentanyl, 70 kilograms of cocaine, 23 kilograms of methamphetamine and 34 pounds of marijuana. Agents also seized 43 firearms and more than $2.8 million, along with jewelry and 15 luxury vehicles, including two Rolls-Royces, a Lamborghini and an Aston Martin. Investigators secured notices tied to 17 properties in South Carolina and Georgia, with an estimated combined value of nearly $4 million. The case began as part of a Homeland Security Task Force investigation. The department said the DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI’s Columbia field office, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and numerous local and state agencies investigated it. An indictment unsealed in April charged 18 people, a 42-count superseding indictment unsealed in November charged 16 more, and two people were charged in a separate indictment in July 2025. The defendants are currently charged in federal court; prosecutors did not list a trial date in the available report.