The country where criminal creativity knows no limits
It seems that the weekend was particularly busy for law enforcement in Mexico, because the seizure reports sound like a supermarket shopping list, but of the shady kind. We started strong in Pénjamo, Guanajuato, where the National Guard and the Pemex custodians decided to play ‘Where is the clandestine tomita?’ and, spoiler alert, they found three. Not only that, but they also took 13,500 liters of gasoline, a collection center (which sounds very formal for an illegal place) and two kilometers of hose from Yapa. Yes, you read that right, TWO KILOMETERS. Someone there had ambitions to be the head plumber of the huachicoleo.
But the confiscation party did not stop there. In Mérida, Yucatán, the Navy and the FGR carried out a search that seemed more like an involuntary move. Tanks, drums with mysterious yellow liquid (radioactive lemonade? Who knows) and cubitanks with translucent material were seized. All very scientific and at the same time very sinister. The jackpot, however, was in Nuevo Laredo, where inside a container bound for Arkansas, USA, they found 530 kilos of methamphetamine hidden in… rocks! The valuation: a modest amount of 144 million pesos. Nothing, just the dream of any frustrated drug trafficker shattered.
Sinaloa: the state that always gives something to talk about
The Sinaloan chapter could not be missing in this saga. At the Aguaruto Penitentiary Center, in Culiacán, a routine inspection in modules 4, 5 and 28 resulted in a loot that included weapons, drugs and radio communication equipment. Basically, everything you need to set up a small crime bureau inside the prison. Efficiency is admirable, even if for questionable purposes. Outside the walls, the state and municipal police captured a subject who was traveling in a stolen vehicle, seizing three long weapons, bulletproof vests and, of course, more doses of narcotics. Because in Sinaloa, it seems that the basic survival kit always includes an arsenal and something to liven up the party.
And if you thought that was all, Badiraguato reminded us why it is the cradle of drug trafficking in capital letters. The Army seized 42 kilos of fentanyl, 21 kilos of cocaine and 9 kilos of fentanyl pills. The total value: 349.5 million pesos. A figure that is dizzying and that could finance several seasons of a streaming drug series. But not content with that, in other parts of Culiacán they found four laboratories to manufacture methamphetamine, with 1,510 liters and 175 kilos of chemical substances. The economic impact on crime: 34 million pesos. Come on, they ruined the weekend for more than one boss.
The north also exists (and a lot)
The northern border was not left behind in this parade of interventions. In Tijuana and Mexicali, arrests and seizures were the order of the day. Long weapons, short weapons, magazines, gas grenades, telescopic sights and, of course, more methamphetamine. In one of the seizures in Mexicali, up to three vehicles were seized. Someone over there had plans to equip a small private army, or maybe he was just a very enthusiastic collector.
In Ciudad Juárez, history repeated itself: two men arrested with two kilos of fentanyl pills, 200 grams of cocaine in stone and one kilo of cocaine. Nothing like a varied assortment to satisfy all market tastes. Meanwhile, in Guadalupe y Calvo, the loot was purely weapons: two long weapons, 25 magazines, 580 cartridges, tactical equipment and a ballistic helmet. Everything ready for an extreme paintball game, but without the paintball.
The country’s capital also had its moment of glory. In the municipalities of Iztapalapa, Iztacalco and Gustavo A. Madero, they searched three properties and detained four people, seizing a short weapon and various doses of drugs. The value: 119 thousand pesos. Although it may sound small compared to the millionaire figures from the north, it is still significant. Then, in Iztacalco, the SSC police arrested three people with almost 300 doses of cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine each, in addition to a not inconsiderable arsenal. Come on, microtrafficking in CDMX is in good health.
To close with a flourish, in Guadalajara they captured an alleged kidnapper, because multitasking crime is a trend. In Uruapan, Michoacán, two men were arrested with an arsenal, methamphetamine, a satellite antenna, a drone and a vehicle. Because in modern organized crime, technology is key. And in Galeana, the discovery was 50 thousand fentanyl pills. Fifty thousand. A figure that seems straight out of a public health nightmare.
In short, it was a week in which the authorities put a handbrake on more than one criminal plan. The quantities of drugs and weapons seized are astronomical, and give an idea of the magnitude of the challenge. But they also make it clear that the crime network is more active than ever, innovating in methods and hiding places. A game of cat and mouse where the stakes are very high and the consequences are vital.
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