The Mexican Navy reported Thursday that it had seized approximately 2 tonnes of suspected cocaine off the Pacific coast of the southern state of Chiapas.
The Navy Ministry (SEMAR) said in a statement that naval personnel intercepted a boat with 55 packages containing around 2 tonnes of “white power with characteristics similar to cocaine.”
The likely cocaine bust occurred near Barra Tonalá, located in northwestern Chiapas near the state’s border with Oaxaca.
SEMAR said that the Navy received intelligence about two “suspicious” vessels off Mexico’s southern Pacific coast and subsequently located and followed them. Both vessels were intercepted by the Navy.
According to a SEMAR video posted to social media by federal Security Minister Omar García Harfuch, three Guatemalan men were arrested at the same time the suspected cocaine and 1,380 liters of fuel were seized.
The SEMAR statement said the confiscation of the apparent cocaine would result in “possible” losses of US $25 million for criminal groups.
La Secretaría de Marina @SEMAR_mx detuvo a 3 personas extranjeras quienes se encontraban a bordo de 2 embarcaciones; se aseguraron más de 1,900 kg de cocaína.
La Secretaría de Marina del 01 de octubre de 2024 a la fecha ha asegurado 26 mil 508 kilogramos de cocaína en alta mar. pic.twitter.com/ItO7x1Rrm3— Omar H Garcia Harfuch (@OHarfuch) February 20, 2025
The video said that the three suspects and the “seized material” would be transferred to Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, and Puerto Chiapas, Chiapas.
SEMAR reported that more than 26 tonnes of “presumed cocaine” has been seized at sea since the current federal government took office on Oct. 1. Maritime operations in the same period also confiscated 35 vessels including a semi-submersible one, almost 80 motors and approximately 60,000 liters of fuel, according to the navy statement. Close to 150 people have been arrested, SEMAR said.
Cocaine, meth, weapons and ‘exotic animals’ seized in Tamaulipas
A large quantity of cocaine was also seized in Tamaulipas this week, the Tamaulipas Attorney General’s Office (FGJE) reported.
In a statement on Thursday, the FJGE said that its agents in conjunction with Navy personnel seized “22,000 doses of cocaine” as well as “more than 600 doses of methamphetamine,” weapons, “exotic animals” and a variety of vehicles at two separate properties in the municipality of Altamira.
The “exotic animals” were perhaps not as exotic as one might expect — “a pony and 29 caged roosters,” according to the FGJE statement.
No arrests were reported.
Narcotics go up in flames in Sinaloa
The state government of Sinaloa reported on Thursday that a large quantity of illicit drugs were incinerated in Culiacán in the presence of Governor Rubén Rocha Moya.
The drugs burned included more than 1.5 tonnes of cocaine; 78.05 kilograms and 279.6 liters of methamphetamine; 436.8 kilograms of marijuana; 7.5 kilograms and 1.79 liters of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC); 8.6 kilograms of “other narcotics.”
The Sinaloa government also said that “490 objects of crime,” including 457 seized slot machines, were destroyed.
Also in Culiacán this week, federal authorities arrested two key leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, which has been fighting a bloody factional war since September.
Mexico News Daily
