PASADENA, Texas — United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Janine Pirro announced the most significant federal seizure of drug precursor chemicals by federal law enforcement authorities in U.S. history during a Wednesday press conference in Pasadena, Texas. The precursor chemicals, seized in two separate maritime interdictions, were headed from China to Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel.
U.S. Attorney Pirro indicated the chemicals included 363,000 pounds of benzyl alcohol, which can be used to produce benzyl chloride, a DEA-list II chemical restricted in many countries because it can be used to produce amphetamine-type narcotics illegally. In addition to the vast quantity of benzyl alcohol seized during the operation, 334,000 pounds of N-methyl formamide, a chemical included on the DEA special surveillance list of laboratory supplies used in the manufacture of controlled substances, was also interdicted.
Speaking to the devastation caused by the supply line of chemicals used to produce the deadly illegal narcotics headed to the United States, Pirro told reporters, “Everyday, tons of chemicals that are used to create synthetic drugs like methamphetamine and fentanyl are shipped from China to Mexico in China’s undeclared war against America and her citizens. Everyday, in funeral homes across this country we see the tragic consequences of what can happen in this undeclared war.”
Pirro told reporters the massive cache of precursor chemicals could be used to produce 420,000 pounds of methamphetamine by the Sinaloa Cartel. The laboratories operated by the cartel are currently capable of producing a ton of methamphetamine per week. Pirro valued the methamphetamines that may have been manufactured with the chemicals at $569 million in the Houston area, an amount she said would increase as the illegal narcotics moved into markets on the upper eastern seaboard of the United States.
U.S. Attorney Pirro was joined by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons, HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz, CBP Houston Director of Field Operations Jud Murdock, DEA Houston Acting Special Agent in Charge William Kimbell, and FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams.
The seizure was a collaboration between the federal agencies represented at the press conference and the United States Department of Defense. The shipments, according to Pirro originated in Shanghai, China and were to be received by the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, now a foreign terrorist organization as designated by the Trump administration.
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