US holds 750 in drug cartel raids

Eric Holder said 52 suspects were arrested in raids on Wednesday

US federal agents have arrested some 750 people across the country in a crackdown on Mexican drug cartels, US Attorney General Eric Holder has said.

Among them were 52 people arrested on Wednesday in California, Minnesota and Maryland in raids targeting the powerful Sinaloa cartel, he said.

Agents also seized 23 tonnes of drugs in the 21-month operation.

A 2008 justice department report found Mexican traffickers were the biggest organised crime threat to the US.

Most of the cocaine available in the US is smuggled via the US-Mexican border, while Mexican drug traffickers control most of the US drug market.

Mexican smugglers are also increasingly working with US gangs, the report found.

The Sinaloa cartel is one of four main Mexican drug-trafficking groups, the others being the Gulf cartel, the Tijuana cartel and the Juarez cartel.

The US Congress has authorised the spending of $1.6bn (