Officers detained four people in simultaneous searches in the boroughs of Cuauhtémoc, Benito Juárez and Iztacalco in Mexico City.[1] Sergio Cano Correa, 33, known as D3, was detained in Colonia Centro in Cuauhtémoc and was described as the leader of the criminal cell.[1] The three others detained with him were Patricio Daniel Hernández Ruiz, 41, known as Smog, Paolo Josué Zavala Zavala, 27, and Francisco Javier Valencia Ordoñez, 34.[1] The detainees were informed of their rights and placed at the disposal of the Public Prosecutor, while the premises were sealed under police custody.[2]

In Iztacalco officers seized a greenhouse with 1,153 cannabis plants, along with two bags of marijuana, a bag of yellow powder and a digital scale.[1] In Benito Juárez officers found a drug warehouse holding 139 packages and a sack with 35 kilos of marijuana.[1] The operation was run jointly by federal security, defence, navy, prosecution and National Guard authorities with the capital Citizen Security Secretariat, following intelligence work to identify the properties.[1]

The authorities described the group as a Familia Michoacana cell dedicated to cultivating, harvesting, storing and distributing designer marijuana.[2] The cell was reported to have presence in several Mexico City districts and in the State of Mexico, Guerrero and Sinaloa.[1] The organisation was reported to have transnational reach, with cultivation operations detected in Costa Rica and Guatemala.[1] Investigators said the cell’s main activity centred on developing production greenhouses and selling designer marijuana transnationally.[3]