MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexican security forces said on Wednesday they had made the largest fentanyl seizure in the country’s history, impounding 1,100 kilograms of the synthetic opioid in the state of Sinaloa.
In a statement, law enforcement said the seizure was the equivalent of 20 million fentanyl doses and would cause an economic hit to organized crime of an estimated $400 million.
The record seizure comes amid worsening violence in Sinaloa where factions of the Sinaloa Cartel have been engaged in bitter fighting which flared after the capture of kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada in July.
It also comes as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to get Mexico to do more to stop the flow of the deadly opioid that has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans, threatening to impose steep tariffs if he does not see results on curbing fentanyl trafficking and illegal migration.
Mexican authorities also said they had apprehended over 5,200 migrants across the country on Tuesday, signaling a further ramp up in enforcement aimed at stopping migrants from reaching the U.S. border.
Security forces found the fentanyl at two properties in the municipality of Ahome, which intelligence work and tip offs from the public had led them to investigate.
In one building, law enforcement found 800 kilograms of fentanyl, some precursor chemicals and four vehicles. In the other, they discovered 11 packages totaling about 300 kilos of fentanyl, as well as precursors, scales and industrial mixers.
“This is an investigation that has been going on for a long time and yesterday, it gave these results. It is the largest seizure ever made” of fentanyl, President Claudia Sheinbaum told a press conference on Wednesday.
The announcement marks a change in tack for the Mexican government with former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador repeatedly denying the country was a center for the production of fentanyl despite significant evidence showing that it was.
(Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer and Ana Isabel Martinez;Editing by Alistair Bell)
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