Federal agents arrested three men at their condominium in Novi, Mich., in July 2017, resulting in the seizure of 88 kilograms of heroin, 10 kilograms of fentanyl, and more than $500,000 in cash. The men, one of whom hails from Sinaloa, Mexico, were part of an active network with links to a Mexican cartel that had infiltrated southeastern Michigan, and had ties to Maryland, Florida, Indianapolis, and Dallas.

Once removed from the streets, however, it became clear that the individuals only made up a small node within the larger network of opioid suppliers in Michigan. In September 2018, Michigan’s opioid crisis hit levels that led federal agencies across the state to band together to form a “strike agency” to combat more than 140 known neighborhood gangs distributing Mexican heroin and fentanyl in southeast Michigan.