The alleged drug trafficker Armando 'N', alias
El Inge
, considered the leader of the Pacific Cartel in Sinaloa, was arrested in Mexico during an operation in Culiacán that culminated in the largest seizure of fentanyl in the country's history, as announced on Thursday by the Secretariat of National Defense.
Inge
and four of his partners who were with him in the building when he was seized by the Army, the National Guard and the Attorney General's Office (FGR), were linked to a process by a federal judge for the crime of organized crime .
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The operation was carried out on October 28 in the capital of Sinaloa and in this 260 pounds (118 kilos) of pure fentanyl paste were seized, with which
118 million fentanyl pills
could have been made
.
Four bags of fentanyl paste precursor chemicals and one long gun were also seized along with four short weapons.
In addition to 1,050 cartridges of various calibers, two vehicles, and cash equivalent to about $ 20,000.
"This seizure of pure fentanyl is considered the largest in history and would have an estimated price in the national market of 970 million pesos (about 48.5 million dollars)," said the National Defense statement.
This seizure of pure fentanyl is considered the largest in history "
Secretary of National Defense
The authorities indicated that the synthetic drug laboratory they seized, located inside a house in a luxury residential area in Culiacán, had the capacity to produce up to 70 million fentanyl pills per month, with which they supplied the Pacific Cartel.
“As a result of the ministerial investigations carried out by the FGR and intelligence activities, it was possible to locate a property used as a synthetic drug laboratory, in which the members of the criminal cell were hiding, as well as another property used as a collection center and three more ”, added the text.
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Authorities believe that most of the seized synthetic drug was destined for the international market, particularly the United States.
Fentanyl seizures on the southwestern border of the United States have increased by 4,000% in the last three years, according to data from Border Protection and Customs.
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According to the Drug Enforcement Administration,
two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal
, depending on a person's body size.
One kilogram of fentanyl (2.2 pounds) has the potential to kill 500,000 people.
Since 2019, more than 36,000 people in the United States have died from a fentanyl overdose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The coronavirus pandemic is believed to have worsened this opioid epidemic.
With information from EFE.