DEA Claims Credit for 16-Ton Methamphetamine Seizure in Sinaloa

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is claiming a central role in Mexico’s seizure of more than 16 tons of methamphetamine in Sinaloa, saying the operation would not have happened without its intelligence and investigative work.

The DEA said Mexican authorities had dismantled eight significant methamphetamine laboratories with the agency’s cooperation. In a message on X, it described the Sinaloa seizure as the largest so far and said the operations showed the strength of collaboration between the DEA and Mexico in disrupting synthetic-drug production, cutting supply chains and striking criminal finances.

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These seizures would not have happened without DEA intelligence and investigative work.

Mexican Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said the clandestine complex at Corralejo was the second-largest discovered during the government that began in October 2024. Two other clandestine laboratories were found on Sept. 2 in Corralejo and the neighboring community of Corral Viejo, in Sinaloa. Mexican Navy personnel and police seized 460 kilograms of suspected methamphetamine, along with precursors and other chemicals, according to the Navy.

No arrests were reported in those operations, and authorities did not specify which criminal group owned or operated the facilities. García Harfuch said the operations were made possible by the work of the Naval Intelligence Unit, strengthened by information exchanges with U.S. agencies.

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This is the largest yet: more than 16 tons of methamphetamine seized in Sinaloa.

The DEA publicly repeated that the seizures depended on its intelligence and investigative efforts. Mexico’s army had also disabled another large clandestine laboratory three weeks earlier in Culiacán, a stronghold of the Sinaloa Cartel, where officials seized chemicals used to produce drugs.

According to figures from Mexico’s federal Security Cabinet, authorities have located 2,644 clandestine laboratories and seized more than 132 tons of methamphetamine during President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration. In February 2024, the Mexican Navy seized 41.3 tons of methamphetamine in the northern state of Sonora.

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These operations demonstrate the power of collaboration between the DEA and Mexico to disrupt synthetic drug production, cut supply chains and hit criminal finances.