Mexico City, Mexico — Mexico’s Secretary of the Navy says personnel have reached historic levels in drug seizures. Over the past 15 days alone, the Mexican Navy has made seven seizures adding up to thousands of kilos of drugs.
The seizures were made as a result of naval operations in the Mexican Marine Zones, national ports, Mexico City International Airport and in federal states with a high incidence in the production of cocaine and methamphetamine in clandestine laboratories.
In the area of Port Security in a first event, on August 17, naval personnel in coordination with the Customs of the Port of Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, located 20,000 kilos of cocaine.
In a statement, the Secretaría de Marina said “during the inspection of a container that transported solid waste from the extraction of fat and vegetable oils on a ship from Buenaventura, Colombia, 500 bags of livestock feed were located inside and approximately 20,000 kilograms of material contaminated with cocaine were seized.
In a second event on August 30, naval personnel, in coordination with the Customs of the Port of Manzanillo, Colima, located 787 kilos of methamphetamine.
During the inspection of a container that was transporting polishing machinery on a ship destined for Hong Kong, China, were six cylinders containing 1,959 packages, weighing approximately 787 kilograms of methamphetamine.
On September 1, naval personnel in coordination with the Customs of the Port of Veracruz, Veracruz, during the inspection of a container that was transporting feed for cattle on a ship destined for Rotterdam, Netherlands, located 500 ribs of 40 kilograms each, with approximately 20,000 kilograms of alleged methamphetamine.
In a fourth event on September 5, naval personnel in coordination with the Customs of the Port of Veracruz, Veracruz, during the inspection of a container that was transporting “C” hooks for crane counterweights on a ship destined for Rotterdam, Netherlands, found 104 packages containing white powder with an estimated weight of 204 kilograms of methamphetamine.
In a fifth event on September 11, naval personnel within the framework of the Comprehensive Airport Security Strategy, in coordination with the Customs of the International Airport of Mexico City (AICM), during an X-ray inspection found three suitcases containing methamphetamine weighing approximately 18 kilograms were detected and seized, which were destined for Madrid, Spain.
Regarding the combat and destruction of clandestine laboratories for the production of synthetic drugs, in a sixth event, on September 10, naval personnel in coordination with the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), located and dismantled two clandestine laboratories used for the production of synthetic drugs in the town of “Corral Viejo”, in Culiacán, Sinaloa.
As a result of the operations carried out, two laboratories with approximately 3,800 kilograms of suspected methamphetamine, 2,500 kilograms of chemical precursors, four reactors were destroyed and disabled as well as various material presumably for the production of these synthetic drugs.
So far this year, a total of 127 clandestine laboratories have been located, disabled and destroyed.
Finally, in a seventh event in the maritime environment, in an unprecedented action due to the number of vessels and alleged violators of the law detained, on September 11, approximately 200 nautical miles (370.4 kilometers) southwest of the port of Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, naval personnel managed to arrest 24 alleged lawbreakers.
The arrested consisted of 19 Mexicans and five Ecuadorians who were transporting approximately 2,210 kilograms of alleged cocaine. Likewise, a semi-submersible, seven boats, 12 outboard motors and approximately 3,000 liters of fuel were seized.
It is important to highlight that, with this seizure, the Secretary of the Navy brings a total of 40,969 kilograms of alleged cocaine seized so far this year at sea, the agency added.