A Real Life “Breaking Bad” in Montana, Former DEA Chief Weighs In

Cowboy State Daily had a great writeup the other day: Mexican Cartel Tied To Real-Life “Breaking Bad” Meth Bust On Crow Reservation

Even before this case went public, I was talking openly on the radio here in Montana about how the Mexican drug cartels were targeting the Crow Reservation and Lodge Grass, Montana in particular. I was even hearing from non law enforcement sources that this was happening in the midst of our wide open southern border.

Spear Siding. What is Spear Siding? Some sort of construction company that was used as a cover for the Mexican drug cartel affiliated meth trafficking ring on the Crow Reservation? Nope.

Here's how Cowboy State Daily described it. It's basically the area where the woman who ran the drug ring lived. Her name is Frederica Lefthand, and she served as dean of admissions at Little Big Horn College on the Crow Reservation:

Lefthand and other family members lived in a small cluster of homesteads about halfway between Lodge Grass and Wyola on Highway 451. The area is known as Spear Siding, and it’s considered a sacred ceremonial site where an annual sun dance is held in June or July.

Stacy Zinn headed up the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) here in Montana at the time the investigation started. She joined us on the radio Tuesday.  

Stacy Zinn: "It is a interesting and sad story. This was my last act of head of DEA here. We worked this investigation for quite over eight to 12 months. We teamed up with FBI and BIA, and we worked it collectively as a team. And that's how you're supposed to work these long term cartel type investigations. It was sad to see, especially with the with Frederica, because of her- she was out, she had built her life. She had graduated. She was, you know, part of the college system. She had made it, and unfortunately she made some poor, poor choices. And the cartel and her family, the immediate family that were working with the cartels. It was the perfect storm. They impacted at least five different reservations. It was an investigation from Washington, State of Washington, all the way to here in Montana. And this is the first time we saw CJNG (Jalisco New Generation Cartel) actually had a footprint here in the state of Montana. So it was eye opening, but it was a very good investigation. I'm proud of the efforts of the law enforcement- what we did."

I also asked Stacy Zinn about the presence of Tren de Aragua in Montana. That is the violent Venezuelan prison gang that the Department of Homeland Security confirmed is now operating in Montana.

Zinn talked about how rival cartels and gangs are now moving in to parts of Montana like Wolf Point to get in on the drug game too. The fluctuation of pill prices is an indicator of this, she tells us.

Here's the full audio of our chat with Stacy Zinn, former head of the DEA in Montana.