LINCOLN COUNTY, N.C. — Federal investigators say they’ve dismantled what they believe was a major firearms trafficking operation tied to the Sinaloa Cartel, seizing 140 weapons from a Lincoln County residence.

According to our news partner, WACB, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives launched the investigation after receiving information that a cartel associate had stockpiled firearms in North Carolina for shipment into Mexico.

Additional details reported by The Charlotte Observer show investigators believe many of the seized weapons had been stolen and could be connected to crimes throughout the region.

The search warrant resulted in the seizure of 140 firearms, including two .50-caliber rifles and at least one machine gun. Agents also recovered large quantities of ammunition and evidence investigators say is linked to firearms trafficking and human trafficking.

The operation involved the ATF, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office, the Union County Sheriff’s Office and the Monroe Police Department.

ATF officials say the recovered firearms are now being examined through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network to determine whether they were used in unsolved crimes. The agency says the investigation disrupted what officials described as an extremely dangerous weapons trafficking operation that could have fueled violence tied to the Sinaloa Cartel on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

The investigation remains ongoing.