By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
Between March 13th and March 23rd Mexican Army and Naval Infantry units have seized a total of 7,791.35 kilograms of marijuana, 13 kilograms of methamphetamine, 22.255 kilograms of glass methamphetamine and MP $6,470.00 (USD $507.07) in cash in ongoing counternarcotics operations throughout Mexico.
- Army units with the Mexican 26th and 29th Military Zones seized drugs and other contraband March 21st in Veracruz state. Soldiers conducted these operations in Tuxpan, Jesus Carranza, and Minatitlan Orizaba municipalities, taking possession of .100 kilograms of marijuana, 33 packages of marijuana divided for retail sale, 77 packages of cocaine divided for retail sale, one rifle, two handguns, 51 rounds of ammunition, two weapons magazines, two radios and a motorcycle.
- A Mexican Army unit with the 2nd Military Zone seized 9,255 kilograms of glass methamphetamine in 22 packages, personal quantities of cocaine and a vehicle in Gonzalez Ortega colony in Mexicali municipality in Baja California March 21st.
- An army unit with the Mexican 2nd Military Zone in Aeropuerto colony in Ensenada municipality in Baja California March 21st found one plastic bag containing a total of 2.75 kilograms of marijuana.
- An army patrol with the Mexican 2nd Military Zone near El Rancho Las Viboras near Valle de la Trinidad in Ensenada, Baja California March 21st seized 3 rifles and 111 rounds of ammunition.
- A Mexican Army patrol with the 2nd Military Zone in Las Americas division of Mariano Matamoros colony in Tijuana, Baja California March 21st conducted an apparent traffic stop, seizing a personal quantity of marijuana, one handgun, one weapons magazine, seven rounds of ammunition and one vehicle.
- An army patrol with the Mexican 2nd Military Zone March 21st in Mexicali colony in Ensenada, Baja California detained one unidentified individual and seized packages of glass methamphetamine divided for retail sale, .400 kilograms of marijuana and eight packages of marijuana divided for retail sale.
- A Mexican Army unit with the 8th Military Zone rescued three hostages March 22nd in Tamaulipas. The operation took place near Ursulo Galvan where soldiers also seized four rifles, 39 weapons magazines, 991 rounds of ammunition and one vehicle.
- An army unit with the Mexican 8th Military Zone seized a large quantity of marijuana in Tamaulipas state March 22nd. The unit had been sent to a location near Ejido Puertecitos in Ciudad Camargo municipality where soldiers found a abandoned building with 4,713.6 kilograms of marijuana in 590 packages inside.
- Mexican Navy Infantry units seized several liters of precursor chemicals in the port of Manzanillo, Colima March 13th. The chemicals, which can be used to manufacture synthetic drugs, was found aboard a container ship bound for Guatemala from Shanghai, China. A total of 32,000 liters of methylamine were found inside 160 200-liter barrels.
- A Naval Infantry unit at a military checkpoint near Huehuetan, Chiapas March 14th, searched a tractor trailer rig, finding chemicals used for the manufacture of synthetic drugs and a quantity of glass methamphetamine. Marines found 99 200-liter drums and 12 50-liter drums, containing methylamine and etilfenilacetato. Marines also found 13 kilograms of glass methamphetamine in 13 packages and MP $6,470.00 (USD $507.07) in cash. The unidentified truck driver was detained at the scene.
- Marine personnel attached to the Mexican 14th Naval Zone seized several packages of drugs in Chiapas state March 17th. The marines were part of the Unidad de Inteligencia Tactica Operativa (UNITO) unit which searched a tractor trailer rig stopped between Huehuetan and Viva Mexico. Aboard were found 269 packages of powder cocaine and 22 packages of methamphetamine. The total weight of the seizure was not disclosed. The driver, Victor Perez Chavez, 50, was detained at the scene.
- A Mexican Naval Infantry unit found a hidden synthetic drug laboratory in Sinaloa state March 19th. The unit was on patrol in San Ignacio municipality approximately 4.67 kilometers from Ejido Toyhua when it found the lab hidden in the brush, where were found nine 200-liter drums and 11 50-liter drums containing chemicals as well as 525 kilograms of chemicals in 21 bags, containers and other equipment.
- A Mexican Naval Infantry unit located a hidden laboratory for the production of synthetic drugs in Michaocan state March 23rd. The unit was on patrol near El Costeño in Aquila municipality when it found the lab. Marines seized several dairy and other containers, at least 100 kilograms of unidentified chemicals, one pressure cooker, other smaller containers, one 9mm pistol, one weapons magazine and nine rounds of ammunition.
- An army unit with the Mexican 4th Military Zone located several kilograms of marijuana in Sonora state March 22nd. The unit was on coastal patrol when soldiers found an abandoned ship with 252 packages of marijuana totalling 3,074.6 kilograms.
- March 21st a Mexican Army unit with the 4th Military Zone conducted a traffic stop near Hermosillo, Sonora, detaining Mario Francisco Sanchez Paez AKA El M-1, and another unidentified suspect. Sanchez Paez was wanted by Sonoran state authorities for kidnapping.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com