Mexico Says Fentanyl, Meth Seizures Soar as Mexican Drug Cartels Import From China
US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announces indictments to stop fentanyl and other opiate substances from entering the United States during a press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC, October 17, 2017. SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

Federal authorities in Mexico emphasized the increasing volume of fentanyl and meth in the country as Mexican drug cartels and syndicates doubled their production and imported from China.

Based on reports, Mexican drug cartels started to churn out increased quantities of the deadly synthetic drugs aside from importing them from China.

Mexico Officials Say There's a Huge Increase in Fentanyl Production

According to Fox News, the Defense Department of Mexico issued the figures of seized synthetic opioid fentanyl on Monday. For the first three years of the current administration, which took office on December 1, 2018, the numbers soared by 525 percent.

A total of 1,232 pounds or 559 kilograms of fentanyl was seized by Mexico's law enforcement between 2016 and 2018, while they were able to get at least 7,710 pounds or 3,497 kilograms in 2019-2021.

Mexico, China Increases Production of Synthetic Drug Fentanyl

Defense Secretary General Luis Cresencio Sandoval acknowledged that there has been a huge shift by Mexican drug cartels getting away from naturally grown drugs like marijuana and opium. The seizures of the naturally grown drugs fell due to the ease of producing synthetic drugs.

Sandoval noted that during the first three years of the administration, there was a rise of seizures of the synthetic opioid fentanyl by 525 percent. He added that the number of methamphetamines' seizures was more than doubled.

In the past three years, the seizures of meth increased by 128 percent, rising from 54,521 kilograms or 120,100 pounds in 2016-2018 to nearly 124,735 kilograms or 275,000 pounds.

Moreover, Mexican authorities noted that part of that increase in numbers was due to the growing popularity and production of fentanyl globally.

They said that Mexican drug cartels obtained the information via organized crime groups in China that they could press into pills or mix into other drugs, which made it more dangerous for users.

Sandoval emphasized that the ease of producing synthetic drugs caused a change in consumption in drug markets. He noted that drug cartels do not need to pay farmers anymore to grow opium poppies and are painstakingly collecting the opium paste that oozes from the bulbs.

The synthetic drug boom in the country was illustrated last week when a trucker from Mexico was apprehended after attempting to smuggle record-breaking volumes of meth and fentanyl into the U.S.

In a statement, the U.S. Attorney's Office said more than 17,500 pounds of meth and 389 pounds of fentanyl were discovered Thursday hidden inside a tractor-trailer intercepted at the Otay Mesa border crossing in San Diego. Authorities said the seizures were the largest of either drug in the U.S. for both 2020 and 2021.

The U.S. has surpassed 100,000 deaths due to overdose between April 2020 and April 2021, marking a terrible new milestone in history. In October alone, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported a 42 percent increase in the seizure of fentanyl in the country.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Jess Smith

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