Historic seizure: Mexico seizes more than 2,400 pounds of fentanyl

Mexican authorities achieved the largest fentanyl seizure in the country's history Tuesday night, as border pressure mounts for the government to crack down on drug trafficking to the United States.

“It is the largest seizure of fentanyl pills that has ever been made,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday morning during her daily press conference, reporting that the amount seized was more than 20 million doses.

“Think [about it], the consumption of a person addicted to fentanyl over the course of a year is like a packet of sugar. Then think about a ton of fentanyl, we are talking about more than 20 million doses, and close to eight billion Mexican pesos [$394 million],” Sheinbaum said.

En dos acciones distintas encabezadas por @SEMAR_mx, elementos del Gabinete de Seguridad @SEDENAmx, @FGRMexico, @GN_MEXICO_ y @SSPCMexico en Sinaloa se logró el decomiso histórico más grande de fentanilo; Más de una tonelada de pastillas de fentanilo, dos hombres fueron… pic.twitter.com/QP6qJkjBIA

— Omar H Garcia Harfuch (@OHarfuch) December 4, 2024

Omar García Harfuch, who serves as the nation’s Secretary of Security and Civilian Protection, also issued a statement saying the seizure occurred after authorities carried out “two separate actions” in the coastal state of Sinaloa.

“In Sinaloa, the largest historical seizure of fentanyl was achieved,” García Harfuch said, adding that “more than a ton of fentanyl pills” were seized, and that two men had been arrested.

He added that law enforcement efforts will persist until violence decreases in that state where two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel—the main exporters of fentanyl to the United States—have been engaging in a vicious turf war for months to control the area.

In a statement issued early Wednesday morning, authorities explained that, while carrying out “security work” in the Ahome municipality in the northern part the state, “troops detected two properties linked to criminal activities.”

Upon searching the first property, authorities found nearly 1,800 pounds of fentanyl and chemical triggers. At the second property, they found a van with 11 packages containing 600 pounds of the opioid.

After these two seizures, security forces stopped a car in which 4.4 pounds of fentanyl pills were found, totaling of more than 2,400 pounds, the largest seizure of this drug recorded in Mexico.

In the operation, three short weapons and three radio communication equipment were seized, and two men, Elier Jassiel Esquerra Félix—and Javier Alonzo Vázquez Sánchez, alias “Tito,” were both arrested.

Subsequent investigations revealed the two detainees are part of a criminal group producing pills and trafficking fentanyl, that also has links to the Beltrán Leyva Organization that operates in Sinaloa.

This historic seizure, which authorities say cost criminal groups about $400 million, occurs after President-elect Donald Trumpthreatened to add a 25% tax to all products entering the country from Canada and Mexico and an additional 10% tariff on goods from China.