Mexican cartels set their sights on juicy profits from the Oceania market

Gustavo Castillo Garcia

The newspaper La Jornada
Sunday, July 28, 2024, p. 3

Since 2018, Mexican cartels, in addition to trafficking synthetic drugs to the United States, have focused their shipments on European countries, where a kilogram of methamphetamine reaches 20 thousand dollars, and on nations such as Australia and New Zealand, since the same amount of the drug is sold for up to 190 thousand dollars, according to an analysis by the International Center for Research and Analysis Against Maritime Narcotrafficking (CMCON), in which authorities from Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, the Netherlands, Panama and the Dominican Republic participate.

The multinational organization warns that The crackdown on fentanyl trafficking has reportedly led to the development of new synthetic drugs to meet user demand. These new substances could be even more potent and difficult to detect, making control by health and safety authorities extremely difficult. The emergence of these drugs could require a review of the current legal framework and the adoption of innovative forensic techniques to identify the new compounds..

In the diagnosis of the increase in synthetic drug trafficking, published last May, they ask, “Is Mexico consolidating its leadership in methamphetamine (crystal) trafficking to Asia and Australia?

The analysis states that the InSight Crime organization, in its report of April 3, 2024, points out regarding Mexican criminal organizations: “currently, Europe and Oceania would be offering the opportunity for greater profits; and although operating costs would be increasing, the same amount of methamphetamines could reach an estimated cost of 20 thousand dollars in European countries and up to 190 thousand in Australia and New Zealand.

In this order of ideas, Oceania in particular would be becoming the most attractive market for drug trafficking organizations, with Australian and New Zealand authorities claiming that this considerable flow of methamphetamines would have been coming from Mexico since 2018..

Mexican authorities have concentrated the access points to national territory for imports of chemical precursors in two seaports: Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, and Manzanillo, Colima.

It has also established new inspection mechanisms via X-rays, inspections with canine teams and manual inspections, not only for products that are considered chemical precursors that could be diverted from their legal use in pharmaceutical, perfumery and food companies.

Likewise, policies of maximum review have been established for shipments coming from nations considered producers of chemical precursors or for which an international alert has been issued for possible illicit shipments within the thousands of containers transported by sea.

An example of the actions undertaken by the Mexican Navy (Semar) is the seizure of 80 tons of chemical precursors known as dual-use, meaning that they can be used to produce synthetic drugs such as fentanyl or methamphetamine as well as legal substances, and which were destroyed because the importers could not prove the legality of their cargo.

In its study, CMCON urges that Mexican, Colombian and other South American authorities, in cooperation with United States agencies, intensify their control and security efforts in areas of interest to drug trafficking organizations as well as increase the confiscation of more synthetic drugs in Mexico’s main drug markets..

This is because, he warns, the existence of a new trend in the consumption of synthetic drugs, “according to the historical records of seizures provided by the CMCON, reflects a significant increase in seizures of substances such as methamphetamine, which could require an analytical and specialized approach in the area of ​​public health in order to establish more inclusive guidelines and guidelines with prevention and treatment strategies.

While, In order to effectively evade repression by the authorities, criminal networks are reportedly rethinking their tactics, including the use of new maritime and/or land routes, as well as the use of alternative chemical substances.according to CMCON.