Drug lab dismantled in Michoacán; it produced two tons of methamphetamine per week

MORELIA, Mich. (apro).- Members of the Ministry of National Defense (Defense) discovered and dismantled a clandestine mega-laboratory of synthetic drugs near the town of Catarino Pérez, municipality of Tepalcatepec, in the Tierra Caliente region.

The facility had the capacity to produce around two tons of methamphetamines weekly, generating an estimated economic value of more than 80 million pesos per month.

The discovery occurred during a surveillance patrol after the military discovered several civilians aboard a pickup truck. The men fled, abandoning the vehicle. The vehicle, which had been reported stolen and was carrying two vats containing approximately 300 kilograms of a substance with characteristics similar to methamphetamine, had been found.

Subsequently, after an inspection of the area, the soldiers located the drug laboratory with infrastructure and large quantities of supplies and chemical precursors.

Among the instruments and materials seized and made available to the competent authorities are four reactors, four condensers, three metal centrifuges, seven cylindrical containers, 53 drums with unidentified chemicals, 32 vats and 29 drums with various substances, as well as six buckets with unknown white material, 64 sacks with probable caustic soda, more than 10 gas tanks and three large-capacity metal pots.

In another operation, also in the Tierra Caliente region, officers from the Public Security (SSP) and Defense Secretariats seized three stolen vehicles and more than 600 doses of various drugs in the municipality of Buenavista.

The incident occurred in the town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, known as La Ruana, where personnel from both institutions seized three Hyundai, Volkswagen, and Bajaj vehicles, all reported stolen.

Inside one of them, security forces confiscated 528 packages of dried green grass, apparently marijuana, and 97 packages of white powder that looked like cocaine.