US slaps sanctions on suspected drug cartel money launderers

The US Treasury Department on Monday imposed sanctions against three people in Mexico and China it accused of laundering money for the Sinaloa drug cartel.

The sanctions targeted a Mexico-based man named Diego Acosta Ovalle, whom the Treasury accused of "hiding and collecting drug trafficking proceeds, before delivering them to associates of the cartel."

The Treasury also imposed sanctions on Tong Peiji and He Jiaxuan -- both based in China -- for laundering "illicit drug proceeds belonging to the Sinaloa Cartel."

"Today we are taking action to cut off the financial flows of major money launderers who are powering the trafficking of fentanyl and other illicit drugs to the United States," US deputy Treasury secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement.

"We will continue leveraging Treasury's unique capabilities to disrupt the illicit fentanyl and drug trafficking trade that claims the lives of thousands of Americans each year," he added.

Monday's action was taken in coordination with the Mexican government as part of a campaign to disrupt fentanyl trafficking, according to the Treasury.