A US citizen was arrested near the Arizona border by Mexican police on Friday. She was allegedly transporting arms and ammunition for the Sinaloa Cartel, Fox 10 Phoenix says.
Yanet Dowden, 22, was detained on September 11, 2026, as part of patrols conducted on the border crossing between San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, and San Luis, Arizona. The authorities claim that she acted as a logistics operator for the Los Mayos branch of the cartel.
5,445 rounds of 7.62×39 mm ammunition were seized from the back of her Jeep Wrangler, stored below the seat covers. This type of ammo is utilized in AK-type rifles. Some sources also refer to firearms. The officials estimate the value of the ammunition and the car at 1.65 million pesos and consider the raid a strike against the ammunition supply chain of the cartel in northern Mexico.
Arizona Department of Corrections ID card, which identifies her as Correctional Officer II, a mid-rank, was found in her possession. Authorities are now checking the ID’s legitimacy and her employment status.
The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry, which employs more than 10,000 people and operates 13 state prisons, did not comment.
The Navy Secretariat conducted the raid with assistance from the Secretariat of National Defense, the National Guard, the Attorney General’s Office, and the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection. Dowden was informed of her rights and transferred to a federal prosecutor to decide her legal status and whether to open an investigation, Arizona’s Family says.
