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PHOENIX (AP) - Federal authorities say 12 people have been arrested and more than 220 pounds of drugs seized as part of an eight-month investigation into drug trafficking in Arizona.

"Operation Smoke in Glass" targeted a large-scale drug trafficking organization linked to Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel. Authorities say the cartel has been smuggling large amounts of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin from Mexicali and Sonoita up to the Phoenix area since 2009.

Authorities say the organization used backpackers to transport the drug loads across the Arizona-Mexico border. The drugs were stored in various stash houses located in west Phoenix and then distributed to various locations in western and midwestern states.

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials say nine simultaneous search warrants on suspected stash houses were conducted Wednesday and more arrests in the case are anticipated.