How to complete 'Cartel Investigation' in MW2 DMZ
The 'Cartel Investigation' mission in MW2 DMZ is causing many players grief in Season 3, as its one of the many challenges that are quite vague to complete.
The Cartel Investigation mission is new to the game with Season 3, so many players haven't quite figured out how to complete it yet.
Missions in MW2 DMZ often tend to be rather complicated, so following a walkthrough like this one can save you a lot of time and stress in the long run.
How do you complete Cartel Investigation?
- Locate the cartel in Al Mazrah
- Eliminate five cartel soldiers
- Find and extract two of the large contraband packages
In typical fashion for the extraction game mode you aren't given any location for the cartel, but we've thankfully got you covered below. You can easily complete all three parts of Cartel Investigation in a single deployment, but it can also be spread out if that makes it easier for you.
Where is the cartel?
As the mission step suggests, the cartel can be found in Al Mazrah, so don't waste your time looking on Ashika Island as they only spawn on the first map. They aren't in any one fixed location and instead are dotted across a number of the maps POIs.
The main cartel locations in Al Mazrah are as follows:
- Al Mazrah City
- Hafid Port
- Rohan Oil
- Sarrif Bay
- Zaya Observatory
There should be large warehouses within these locations that the cartel will congregate around, so head over there and the first part should be complete.
Once you've found the cartel, completing the second part of the mission and eliminating five of them is rather self-explanatory. They can offer quite a challenge and are kitted up with body armour so you might want to bring a friend or two to guarantee your safety.
Where are the large contraband packages?
The final part of the Cartel Investigation mission requires you to find and extract two large contraband packages, which are found in the warehouses and large buildings that the cartel is guarding.
This is best done in conjunction with the preceding two parts as they are in the same location, but it can also be completed in isolation if you happen to die before making it out. Just head back to any of the cartel-guarded warehouses in the POIs listed above and the contraband packages should be hiding inside.
The contraband packages are shaped like a small boxes and are often found on the shelves of the warehouse, so make sure that you give each location a thorough look to avoid missing any hidden in plain sight.
Extracting with the two contraband packages will complete the Cartel Investigation mission, giving you a nice XP reward and continuing your progression through the factions.
Find out all about the MW2 DMZ Skeleton Key here.
About The Author
Harry Boulton
Harry is a Guides Writer at GGRecon, having completed a Masters of Research degree in Film Studies. Previously a freelance writer for PCGamesN, The Loadout, and Red Bull Gaming, he loves playing a wide variety of games from the Souls series to JRPGs, Counter-Strike, and EA FC. When not playing or writing about games and hardware, you're likely to find him watching football or listening to Madonna and Kate Bush.
