Federal officers seize suspected drug-production chemical in Sinaloa
Original reporting: Café Negro Portal
What happened
Café Negro Portal reported that officers intercepted a refrigerated truck carrying 35 metric tons of a chemical preliminarily suspected to be lead acetate during Operation Mazatlán.
Reporting and context
Federal Protection Service officers seized 35 metric tons of a chemical suspected of use in methamphetamine production and detained three people during Operation Mazatlán, Café Negro Portal reported.
According to Café Negro Portal, federal personnel inspected a Freightliner tractor-trailer with a refrigerated cargo box traveling toward the port of Mazatlán. The seizure took place at kilometer 33.450 of toll-free Federal Highway 15 on the Mazatlán–Culiacán stretch.
The truck carried granular material in 25-kilogram sacks distributed across 18 pallets. Sixteen pallets held two metric tons each, and the remaining two held one and a half metric tons apiece, accounting for the reported 35 metric tons.
Authorities preliminarily suspected the cargo was lead acetate, a chemical they said could be connected to synthetic drug production. The identification remained preliminary in the report, which described a suspected drug-production input.
The Security and Citizen Protection Secretariat said the operation formed part of reinforced security efforts in Mazatlán, Culiacán and elsewhere in Sinaloa. The stated objectives were to combat drug production and weaken criminal groups’ capabilities. The report did not identify the detainees or assign the shipment to a named criminal organization.
Original publication: Café Negro Portal.