Agents say drug cartels were training horses in Oklahoma

Police say they have busted one of the largest drug cartels in a money laundering operation that spanned four states and netted 14 arrests. Authorities say the top two leaders of the Los Zetos drug cartel are behind bars for running an illegal operation out of a horse ranch in Lexington.

"Isn't it amazing you can live this close and not know what's going on," says neighbor Sandy Compton.

An investigation across four states, including New Mexico, led authorities to Oklahoma where they say the men were buying, training and racing horses, paying in cash, using illegal drug money from Mexico.

"You wonder what's going on with that many horses in one area right there," said Compton.

Officials with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics say illegal operations like this one are on the rise in Oklahoma.

"Because of our proximity to the border and also our highway system OK has become high prime real estate for these drug cartels to use as a base of the criminal activity," the OBN said in a statement.

Even though neighbors had no idea the operation on the quiet ranch was a front for a crime, authorities are on a mission to get the illegal activity out of the state.

"The key is to get these groups identified and dismantled before they get their foot hole here because tragically we've seen what happens in Mexico," the OBN statement said. "When the drug cartels get a foot hold on a community you have violence."

Authorities say some of the horses seized were racers winning big money. If convicted the individuals could face up to 20 years in prison. The U.S. Embassy in Mexico is warning Americans traveling to Mexico. They say there may be retaliation caused by the arrests.