Mica for cartelinsider.com
Despite the information spread following the Guacamaya Leaks hacks on the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) regarding the manufacture of fentanyl pills – detected at least since 2019 -the commander of the Third Military Region, Francisco Jesús Leana Ojeda, stated that in Sinaloa, “fentanyl is not manufactured.”
According to information from the commander of Sedena, no “sophisticated” narco laboratories capable of producing fentanyl pills have been detected; what circulates on the streets and heading towards the border of the United States would be doses of methamphetamines mixed with small amounts of the so-called “zombie drug.”
The commander’s statements collected by the news source Luz Noticias mention that from one gram of opioids, criminal organizations obtain up to five doses of drugs that are sold on the market as pure fentanyl; he also indicated that 10% of the methamphetamine seized by the Mexican Army was mixed with low doses of fentanyl.
Regarding how the “zombie drug” enters the country, the commander stated that he was not sure. However, he suggested it could be through the pharmaceutical industry, along the coasts, or in containers from Asia and Europe. However, he was unaware of the presence of narco laboratories for manufacturing fentanyl. He acknowledged that they have detected and seized shipments of chemical precursors on roads.
Contrary to the statements of the commander of the Third Military Region, documents from the Mexican Ministry of National Defense (Sedena) state that there have been at least 22 “Fentanyl Pill Manufacturing Centers” between 2019 and October 2023.
In the first raid, Sedena seized 33,919 tablets of the opioid; however, the largest seizure occurred in April 2023, when one million 442 thousand 340 doses were taken off the streets. Both took place in Culiacán, Sinaloa.
Out of that list of 22 narcolaboratories known by the Sedena, 95 percent were located in Culiacán, and only five percent (one) were found in the city of Tijuana, Baja California.
Through a transparency request, Sedena confirmed that during the current federal government, thousand eight hundred four drug laboratories were located throughout the national territory.
In 2019, 73 sites were detected, but the number increased to 294 for the following year. Then, the number decreased to 199 in 2021, only to rise again to 438 in 2022. However, the highest number was documented in 2023, with 799 dismantled narcolaboratories. The majority of these sites were used for manufacturing methamphetamines and heroin.
A report by the Reuters agency regarding the 527 drug laboratories detected between January and July 2023 indicated that only five percent of them were active at the time of their dismantlement.
It is worth remembering that in recent years, Mexico and the United States have increased their efforts to stop the trafficking of fentanyl that crosses the border every year. The result: from 2018 to October 2023, 32,918 kilograms of illegal fentanyl were seized, of which only 7,690 corresponds to Mexico.
The Guacamaya Leaks leaks and the document “Some Aspects about Illicitly Manufactured Fentanyl,” prepared by the General Directorate of Strategic Investigation of the Belisario Domínguez Institute of the Senate of the Republic, are in line with the statements of the commander of Sedena regarding the fact that in Mexico – specifically in Sinaloa – “fentanyl is not produced.”
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Mica
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