Sinaloa Cartel moves drug laboratories to Nuevo León

The Sinaloa Cartel used a strategy to divert the attention of the federal authorities and begin the transfer of its clandestine laboratories for the production of synthetic drugs to Nuevo León, under pressure from the Armed Forces in Sinaloa and Sonora, states in the eye of the hurricane. for the production and transfer of fentanyl and methamphetamines to the United States, as well as the disputes between the boss Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada; Aureliano Guzmán Loera, “El Guano”, and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, “El Chapito”.

Official sources revealed that the blankets that appeared in Culiacán, in October 2023, in which The production and sale of fentanyl was prohibited, as well as the massive kidnapping of people recorded in March in the capital of Sinaloa. It was a distraction by Los Chapitos to move part of their drug laboratories. to different parts of Nuevo León, including the city of Monterrey.

Apparently, the criminal group found Nuevo León the ideal place to transport methamphetamines and fentanyl to the United States; In the entity governed by the Emecista Samuel García Sepúlveda, various seizures of chemical substances and synthetic drugs have already been made in large volumes, increasingly recurrent.

The most recent seizure was recorded a few days ago, when elements of the Ministry of the Navy (Semar) secured more than 120 tons of precursors and chemicals for the production of synthetic drugs in the cities of Monterrey and Culiacán, in a simultaneous operation with the Federal Commission for the Protection against Health Risks (Cofepris).

The naval personnel located the companies that the Sinaloa Cartel used to import precursors and through Cofepris the chemical substances were seized and confiscated.

According to official sources, the value of the precursors insured in different properties, which pcould have been used to make the drug known as methamphetamine, exceeds 87 million pesos and they would have been destined for the laboratories of the faction of the Sinaloa Cartel led by capo Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García and his son, Ismael Zambada Sicairos, alias “El Mayito Flaco.”

For the federal authorities, everything seems to indicate that the criminal network of “El Mayo” Zambada is gaining relevance in the criminal market for synthetic drugs, positioning itself as one of the main trafficking groups of these narcotics globally, as it reaches markets in United States, Europe and Australia, where the seizure of methamphetamines is also becoming more frequent.

It should be remembered that in July 2023, the Attorney General’s Office and the Civil Force of Nuevo León They dismantled a laboratory for the production of methamphetaminesa fact that was repeated in the municipality of Doctor González in February of this year, when the FGR seized methamphetamine, precursors and weapons.

The strong disputes between the factions led by Aureliano Guzmán Loera, alias “El Guano”, and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, “El Chapito”, against those led by Los Mayo, have resulted in a high rate of crime and homicides in the states. from Sinaloa, Durango and Sonora, all in order to gain control of the trafficking routes for chemical precursors, fentanyl and methamphetamine to the neighboring country to the north, official sources indicated.

Given this, Nuevo León would be becoming a place of interest for the installation of drug laboratories for criminal organizations that seek new drug trafficking routes to the United Statesfaced with the stalking of the Armed Forces at the traditional transfer points.

Data

The Navy seized 120 tons of chemical precursors from the Sinaloa Cartel.

87 million pesos is the value of the insured precursors, according to authorities.