Mexican drug cartels, including the Sinaloa Cartel, have entered Australia and are now operating in the country, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrator Chief of Intelligence Rodney Benson told the U.S. Congress last week.

In two subcommittee hearings, Benson disclosed that among the Mexican drug trafficking groups, the Sinaloa Cartel has the widest reached throughout Europe, Asia and Australia. It is a powerful consortium of Mexican trafficking syndicates that moves high quantities of cocaine from South America into the U.S.

Benson identified several leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, namely Joaquin Guzman Loera, Ismael Zambada Garcia and Juan Jose Esparragoza Moreno.

Besides cocaine smuggling, the Mexican drug rings are also engaged in money laundering in Australia, according to a report by the Australian Crime Commission released in April.

Globally, drug trafficking is estimated to be worth $322 billion, which is several times the gross domestic product of many countries.

Besides selling illegal drugs, involvement in the trade is also linked with violence and murder. In 2010, more there were more than 15,200 drug-related murders in Mexico alone.