Saturday, August 30, 2025

2 detained in drug bust at Mexico City International Airport

Two airline passengers were arrested on Sunday for attempting to smuggle illicit drugs into Mexico via a nontraditional route.

The Mexico City International Airport (AICM) said on social media that two male passengers were detained at the airport after they arrived on flights from Paris, France, with drugs including cocaine in their checked baggage.

One of the passengers was a dual Mexican and Spanish citizen who had 5.3 kilograms of cocaine and MDMA in his suitcase, AICM said.

The other passenger, whose nationality wasn’t disclosed, had 5 kilograms of cocaine and morphine in his baggage, the airport said.

Both men were photographed standing between two marines with their faces turned away from the camera.

“Now at AICM, the navy is close to you,” says a message on the wall the suspects were facing.

The navy has had complete control of the airport — Mexico’s busiest — since last year and has been in charge of security there since early 2022.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has relied heavily on the armed forces during his six-year term, using them for a wide range of non-traditional tasks including the management of airports, ports and customs and the construction of infrastructure projects.

The Mexico City airport said that the arrests of the two alleged drug smugglers on Sunday demonstrate the “commitment” of the Navy and AICM to “stop illegal actions at our airport in order to guarantee the safety of our passengers.”

More than 10 tonnes of illegal drugs were seized at AICM in 2022 and 2023. That figure included more than 9 tonnes of methamphetamine, over 300 kilograms of fentanyl and 172 kilograms of cocaine. Most of the drugs were presumably heading out of Mexico when they were detected.

Mexico News Daily 

1 COMMENT

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
Preparations for Independence Day festivities in Mexico City's Zócalo are underway.

Mexico’s week in review: Trade talks with Brazil, tariffs on China and televised attacks

0
Highlights of the week of August 25 in Mexico included bilateral trade talks with Brazil, plans to raise tariffs on Chinese imports and political altercations caught on camera.
A cartoon shows two men with the words "Confidently wrong about San Miguel de Allende" and the Mexico News Daily logo

Do you have friends or family who are ‘Confidently Wrong’ about Mexico? A perspective from our CEO

5
Mexico News Daily CEO Travis Bembenek introduces "Confidently Wrong," a new podcast that clears up misinformation about Mexico.
News quiz

The MND News Quiz of the Week: August 30th

1
F1, fashion and flaming axolotls: Have you been keeping up with the headlines this week?
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity