In late October, Mexican authorities seized a record-breaking quantity of Fentanyl at a single laboratory in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, landing a major blow to the Sinaloa Cartel, officials said.
The bust was proof of the unstoppable production of the drug in Mexico, according to security analysts.
Culiacn, a city known for being the stronghold of the Sinaloa's Cartel, was the location of a lab where Mexican soldiers found 118 kilograms of fentanyl worth $50 million.
Mexican officials said the lab and warehouses were used to store chemicals that were used to make Fentanyl.
The Mexican secretariat of defense.
According to US authorities, fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Fentanyl has been used by the Mexican drug cartels more than any other drug.
The leader of the Fentanyl production and shipment to the US was arrested during the raid, along with four of his men.
Over 4 pounds of Inositol, a powder used as a cutting agent for drugs, five firearms, and more than $14,000 were seized by authorities.
The biggest drug bust in Mexico's history might not have an effect on the drug trade. It may be a sign that Mexico is becoming the biggest player in the production of the drug.
"If Mexican authorities seized more than 100 kilograms, it means criminals are making at least several tons," said the former commissioner of Mexico's Federal Police.
Mexican officials said the lab and warehouses were used to store chemicals that were used to make Fentanyl.
The Mexican secretariat of defense.
Fentanyl is easier to produce than cocaine or heroin because it requires a few chemicals and equipment.
It is 20 times more profitable than any other drug. He said that you only need a small dose to create addiction.
It's easier to smuggle small amounts of the drug because it provides such intense effects.
You don't need big shipments to transport Fentanyl. He said that hiding a profitable load inside a trailer container would be hard to find.
The defense secretary of Mexico said earlier this year that the drug could be made in a few hours and was worth about $5,000 a kilogram in Mexico.
In a sign of the scale of production, US authorities seized 17,584 pounds of meth and 389 pounds of fentanyl in a tractor-trailer crossing into the US near San Diego on November 17. US officials said that both amounts would be the largest drug seizures in the US in 2020.
Potent product.
A chemical specialist in a protective suit with pills seized at a clandestine lab processing Fentanyl in Mexico City.
The Attorney General's Office is pictured.
The busted lab in Culiacn was small compared to production in the area, according to an Insider who asked not to be identified.
"After they busted one, some other 10 started operating not very far from that one," the operative said.
Fentanyl labs operate on a mobile basis, according to the operative.
The old bosses used to set up labs in warehouses or abandoned houses, but they lost a lot of money once they busted them. We set up mobile labs in the middle of the woods and cook small batches in several labs at the same time to build a big shipment.
Insider went to a lab operated by the Sinaloa Cartel. The lab operators said cooks are trained to mix the drug according to the US needs.
The operator told Insider that the cook is the only one who knows the recipe, and that the cook learned from a Chinese man brought all the way here.
"Many started dying because we still didn't have the right recipe, and some of them were not aware of the new product," the operator said.
Mexican authorities are looking at a lab suspected of producing synthetic drugs.
The Mexican naval secretariat.
Most of the precursors needed to make Fentanyl come from the Asia region, but not from China. In Colima state on Mexico's Pacific coast, shipments arrive by sea and are processed at the port.
A report from the Drug Enforcement Administration said the Sinaloa cartel was a prominent producer and trafficker of Mexico-based fentanyl into the US. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel has increased its production of drugs.
The US Treasury Department recently imposed sanctions on four men it said were members of theCJNG, who were operating through the port of Manzanillo in Colima to import drugs.
It is not possible to search all the shipments arriving into Mexico. We need a list of priority targets to know who is in charge of these operations.
Mexican officials say that Fentanyl seizures have increased over the past year. In 2020, authorities seized 1,300 kilograms of the drug, compared to 222 kilograms in 2019.
More than 30,000 people in the US died of overdoses of the drug Fentanyl in the last year, making it one of the most dangerous drugs in history. Fentanyl-related overdose deaths in the US have increased.
The only way out is a coordinated agenda regarding addictions and security.
Mexico does not have a campaign to point out the traffickers. The current administration's vision is limited compared to how things are done in the US.
