They say over 300,000 chemicals being shipped from China to the Sinaloa Cartel were seized, making it the largest seizure of its kind ever by U.S. law enforcement.
HOUSTON — One of Mexico’s most powerful cartels was hit with a massive financial loss this week after hundreds of millions of dollars worth of chemicals used to make meth were seized in Houston.
According to Homeland Security, more than 300,000 kilos of chemicals were being shipped from China to the Sinaloa Cartel through Port Houston. The feds say that’s enough to make $569 million worth of methamphetamine.
It took 24 18-wheelers to transport the precursor chemicals from the port to a secure Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) storage facility.
Agents seized six shipping containers of benzyl alcohol, a solvent used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, weighing 164,880 kilos, and six shipping containers of N-methyl formamide, weighing 151,560 kilos. That’s enough to produce 190,000 kilos of meth, according to the feds.
To put it in perspective, in 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized a total of 78,925 kilos of the chemicals along the entire southwest border.
This operation marks the largest seizure ever by U.S. law enforcement of chemicals used to produce meth.
The effort is also part of the Attorney General’s directive, which calls for the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations. The Sinoloa Cartel was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the Trump Administration in January, giving the feds authority to execute the seizure under the terrorism forfeiture provision.
The investigation also included the FBI’s Houston Field Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
In 2023, more than 34,800 Americans died of overdoses from psychostimulants, primarily methamphetamine.
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