Sedena and FGR dismantled drug laboratory in the stronghold of the Sinaloa Cartel

Federal authorities secured and dismantled a drug laboratory operating on the outskirts of Culiacán, Sinaloa, the stronghold and operations center of the Sinaloa Cartel; methamphetamine is presumed to have been produced, since chemical precursors of the drug were found.

The Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) reported on what happened on Monday, April 11, when military elements handed over what was insured to the Public Ministry of the Attorney General's Office (FGR).

“According to the inquiry, elements of the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) located a probable clandestine laboratory used for the manufacture of synthetic drugs and handed over the site to the Federal Ministerial Police (PFM) and Expert Services personnel to carry out inspection tasks, prosecution and investigation,” the agency reported.

The Office of the Regional Control Prosecutor for the Delegation of Sinaloa initiated the investigation folder for the case, so that the intelligence work carried out managed to find the whereabouts of the clandestine facilities.

The laboratory was located in the town of Tachinolpa, on the outskirts of Culiacán, Sinaloa, where 24 liters and 99 milliliters of liquid methamphetamine, 139 liters and 97 milliliters of acetone were found, as well as 109 liters of 98 milliliters of toluene, as well as gas tanks and metal structures.

“The insured was made available to the Federal Public Ministry, which initiated the investigation folder against whom or who is responsible for the crime against health,” Sedena said in the statement.

In recent months, federal authorities have dismantled several drug laboratories in several villages belonging to the municipality of Culiacán, which has historically been controlled by the Sinaloa Cartel.

The last of the assurances took place on April 6 in the town of Carboneras, where 1,654 kilograms of methamphetamine precursors were secured, as well as 1,800 liters of hydrochloric acid, which would be used for the manufacture of various drugs.

Agents of the State Police collaborated with the Sedena elements to carry out the operation that led to the securing of illicit substances, who also found the whereabouts of another laboratory in the town of Imala, where metal structures, gas tanks and pots were found, materials that were used to make drugs.

Other assurances occurred on April 1st in the capital of Sinaloa, as military elements insured 3,820 liters of liquid substances and 1,018 kilograms of unknown chemicals.

According to data submitted by Sedena authorities, the two states in which there have been the most insurance of clandestine laboratories are Sinaloa and Michoacán, with 54 and 19 insured persons respectively during the last year.

The manufacture of synthetic drugs is increasingly common in the north-central area of the national territory, according to federal authorities, who also reported that in the last year 127 laboratories have been secured, most belonging to the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG).

The production of these substances is common in the west of the country because chemical precursors exported from abroad reach Mexico in the Pacific ports, including those of Sinaloa, Colima, Michoacán and Jalisco.

U.S. authorities have identified Mexican cartels as the main suppliers of synthetic drugs and opioids to American society, calling them serious threats to the country's public health.

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