Mexican police discovered an active cartel drug lab this week in the border city of Tijuana. A raid on the lab resulted in the seizure of 350 pounds of methamphetamine according to government security officials.
Elements of the State Preventative Police patrolling in colonia Costa Hermosa in response to reports of suspicious activity observed a male standing next to the rear trunk area of a vehicle parked in front of the garage of a commercial structure, a Mexican media outlet reported. As officers approached, they observed the man was holding a clear plastic bag containing a white granular substance. Officers then contacted the individual and three of his companions based on their observations. The officers then conducted a search of the vehicle and discovered approximately 160 kilograms (350 pounds) of a substance believed to be methamphetamine due to its characteristics.
Officers detained the four individuals identified only as Jose Pedro “N”, 28, Paul “N”, 32, Guadalupe “N”, 19, and Susana “N”, 31. The officers then conducted a cursory search of the commercial structure that led to the discovery of an active drug lab which consisted of bags, containers of various liquids, and granulated substances.
The police secured the scene while waiting for the issuance of a warrant to complete further investigation related to the seizure of the methamphetamine and the lab that was discovered.
The border city of Tijuana has been experiencing a record-breaking number of killings which are attributed to ongoing turf wars involving Cártel Tijuana Nueva Generación (CTNG), aligned with El Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, against the Sinaloa Cartel. The cartels are fighting for control of the lucrative street-level markets and routes leading into the United States. Breitbart Texas reported extensively on the ongoing narco-violence gripping the city and recently reported on 100 homicides being recorded during the first 12 days of August. Year-to-date in 2018, the city has recorded over 1,600 killings.
Breitbart Texas’ law enforcement sources have indicated that the cartel violence is being fueled by the fight over the sale of street-level methamphetamine or “cristal” as it is known on the street. Breitbart Texas has also reported on some recent record-breaking methamphetamine seizures in northern Mexico — the largest being a 50-ton seizure made by the Mexican Navy in the state of Sinaloa and an additional five tons seized near the cross-border Mexican city of Tecate and Ensenada, Baja California.
Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.) You can follow him on Twitter. He can be reached at robertrarce@gmail.com
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