A joint investigation by federal authorities and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) resulted in the arrest of the owner of a chemical company and the seizure of a Nuevo León laboratory believed to be manufacturing fentanyl.

Guadalupe Almaguer was arrested in García, Nuevo León, after a search of two facilities owned by the chemist’s firm, Ampex Chemicals.

Federal agents found a laboratory equipped with instruments, machinery, chemical substances, notebooks filled with handwritten notes and a refrigerator in one of the buildings, located in the Ciudad Mitras industrial park.

Officials also found barrels, boxes, jars and storage racks, all of which led authorities to believe that fentanyl was being produced in the laboratory.

The Attorney General’s Office described it as the biggest seizure in Mexican history due to the lab’s production capacity.

Fentanyl is considered to be up to 50 times more potent than heroin and its use has led to the deaths of thousands of people in Mexico and the United States.

Source: Milenio (sp), La Jornada (sp)