Elements of the Mexican Navy (SEMAR) seized just under two tons of methamphetamine, a quantity of heroin and fentanyl, and over five tons of marijuana during a naval security operation. The seizure took place off the coast of the popular tourist beach resort of Guaymas, located in the border state of Sonora. The port city of Guaymas is located approximately 260 miles south of Nogales, Arizona.
The incident occurred after a Mexican Navy helicopter conducting an anti-narcotics aerial patrol observed two suspicious vessels hidden among mangrove along the edge of the bay area of Guaymas. Officials reported the vessels were partially covered by foliage. Navy personnel in the helicopter directed naval infantry and interceptor patrols to the area to further inspect the two vessels. Upon the arrival, the navy elements discovered the vessels had been abandoned. A search of the vessels uncovered a large quantity of illegal contraband, according to local media outlets.
An inventory produced the following items:
- 1,731.2 kilograms of methamphetamine (3,816.2 pounds),
- 8 pounds of fentanyl in pill and powder form,
- 18 pounds of heroin, and
- 4,863 kilos (10,725.50 pounds) of marijuana.
Officials turned the drugs and the two vessels (power boats) over to the custody of the investigative elements of the federal prosecutor’s office based in Hermosillo, Sonora.
Additionally, elements of the Mexican Army also announced the seizure of approximately one ton of marijuana. Officials seized the marijuana on Wednesday night in the municipality of Ensenada, Baja California, in an area known as La Bufadora. Smugglers abandoned the marijuana in a rural area covered with tree branches inside 47 garbage bags. The bags contained at least 25 kilograms each — weighing out at approximately 2,350 pounds.
The soldiers turned the contraband over to investigative elements of the federal prosecutor’s office who reported that the marijuana was eventually going to be transported along the coast to the U.S. market. The beach resort city of Ensenada is approximately 65 miles south of San Diego, 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.