Federal prosecutors have charged 81 alleged members of a violent Puerto Rico drug trafficking organization known as "Los Baja Deo," or LBD, in what officials are calling one of the territory's largest takedowns in years.

The FBI and the Puerto Rico Police Department arrested 70 of the defendants on Wednesday, with 11 others still at large, according to a Justice Department press release. The operation was carried out under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces initiative, a joint federal-local program targeting major trafficking networks.

What prosecutors allege

According to the DOJ, the organization operated for years on the west side of Puerto Rico, distributing at least 340 kilograms of fentanyl or fentanyl-laced narcotics and roughly 2,200 kilograms of cocaine, along with other drugs. Prosecutors say the group generated more than $49 million in proceeds over the course of the conspiracy. Of the 81 defendants, 21 also face separate charges for illegal possession of firearms, according to the Washington Times' account of the indictment.

AT LEAST 340 KILOGRAMS OF FENTANYL AND 2,200 KILOGRAMS OF COCAINE, OFFICIALS SAY

Fentanyl-driven overdose deaths have remained a top law enforcement priority nationally, and Puerto Rico's location along Caribbean trafficking routes has made it a frequent transit and distribution point for narcotics headed to the U.S. mainland. Officials framed Wednesday's arrests as a significant disruption of that pipeline on the island's west coast, though they cautioned that dismantling any single organization rarely eliminates trafficking in a region long targeted by multiple competing groups.

The size of the case — 81 defendants facing a mix of drug trafficking and firearms charges — makes it one of the larger coordinated indictments to come out of Puerto Rico in recent memory. Fox News reported that federal officials described the case as a long-running investigation that built out a full picture of the organization's supply chain before moving on the arrests.

Those charged face federal drug trafficking and, in some cases, firearms conspiracy charges. The Justice Department said the search for the 11 remaining fugitives is ongoing, and it's not yet clear when arraignments for those already in custody will take place or whether any defendants have entered pleas.