The Mexican government on Thursday announced the seizure of 14 million doses of fentanyl during an operation targeting drug cartels.
The Ministry of Public Security said the drugs were discovered in a clandestine laboratory and a warehouse in Villa de Álvarez, Colima, in southern Mexico.
Police uncovered approximately 270 kilogrammes of a substance resembling fentanyl, in both powder and pill form, equivalent to an estimated 14 million doses, according to the ministry.
Six individuals were arrested during the operation, although authorities have not disclosed the specific date of the raid or the market value of the drugs.
Officials clarified that this seizure is not the largest on record, citing a 2024 operation that resulted in the confiscation of one tonne of fentanyl.
Fentanyl has been described as a “weapon of mass destruction” by US authorities, who are pressuring Mexico to strengthen its efforts against drug cartels.
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the total number of overdose deaths in the country reached around 80,000 in 2024, with about 48,000 attributed to synthetic opioids.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has identified Mexican cartels as central players in the synthetic drug crisis facing the United States.
