Diluted within 12 tons of liquid vanilla flavoring and packaged in plastic bottles. That’s how the Jalisco New Generation Cartel managed to bring nearly two and a half tons of methamphetamine from Mexico into Spain.
The entire logistics network—the complete logistics operation of this organization in Spain—has been dismantled, because we struck at the points of entry, production, and distribution. The shipment was stored at a logistics company located near Barcelona.
From there, it was transported in batches to an industrial warehouse in nearby Jida. Once there—at a site isolated from any urban area—the criminal gang was able to extract about 800 kg of methamphetamine in just two days. It arrives in liquid form; it simply needs to be crystallized.
It is poured into the containers—the vats you see there—and heated with chemicals; it is concentrated, purified, and crystallized. This was a joint operation between Spanish and French police that began in June, when a maritime shipment containing this artificial flavoring—used in cosmetics and food products—was detected.
Tracking the shipment made it possible to dismantle the cartel’s entire logistics structure in Spain and shut down one of the largest clandestine laboratories in Europe for recovering this substance, in addition to arresting 13 people, seven of whom were Mexican.
Of the seven arrested, four are from Guadalajara, Jalisco, and two are from Sinaloa. One of them is the person in charge. We cannot say which of the seven it was. We could speculate; of the seven, those present in the laboratory represent the lowest rung of the ladder. According to police investigations, it was a traveling group with no intention of settling down, although it is unknown how long they had been operating in the country.
Source: NMás
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