On the Sonora border, security corporations reported the seizure and dismantling of the first clandestine laboratory dedicated to the manufacture of fentanyl in a residential area of the Altar neighborhood of San Luis Río Colorado, just four kilometers from the border line that divides Mexico from the United States. The criminal group that operated it maintained high-tech equipment and industrial machinery in the laboratory, in addition to significant quantities of chemical precursors and weapons.
The Sonora Prosecutor’s Office assured that this discovery underlines the complexity and professionalization of the criminal networks that operate in the region, which have found in fentanyl trafficking a source of million-dollar income.
The events occurred in the house located on 20 de Noviembre “B” avenue in the Altar neighborhood of San Luis Río Colorado. The presence of this laboratory so close to the border highlights the complexity of the threats that Mexican authorities face in their fight against drug trafficking, in a context of growing demand for fentanyl in the North American market.
At the property, authorities seized firearms including a 9mm caliber pistol, a .45mm caliber weapon, and three magazines of the same caliber, with a total of 27 cartridges, in addition to 40 9mm caliber cartridges. Also seized were large containers of methyl alcohol, two dehumidifying machines, a plastic bag with granulated blue powder, and a pill marked “M-30,” a common legend on counterfeit fentanyl tablets that imitate drugs regulated in the United States.
The operation also led to the seizure of several bags of blue powder, an industrial blender, a scale, and four pressing machines, utensils that are essential in the process of compacting and packaging fentanyl tablets for distribution on the illegal market. An additional container with blue granulated powder was also found, indicating the production volume in this clandestine laboratory.
Each of these elements reinforces the hypothesis that the laboratory was designed to produce and distribute large quantities of drugs, intended for both local consumption and illegal export to the United States.
The FGJES stressed that all the evidence has been placed in the custody of the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office, which has begun the relevant investigations to identify possible networks and connections within organized crime that may be involved in the production and distribution of fentanyl in the region.
As the investigations develop, it is not ruled out that the case may be linked to other drug trafficking cells that have been detected along the border corridor. This seizure, being the first of its kind in the region, according to the authorities, is just the first step in a sustained fight that will continue until the influence of these organizations in Sonora and the rest of the country is reduced.
Source: jornada
