Badanov's Buzzkill Bulletin

Been a While Edition

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Mexican Army units since October 19th have seized 11,888.741 kilograms of marijuana, 40.4 kilograms of power cocaine,  2.5 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, 2.3 kilograms of heroin, MX $91,050.00 (USD $6903.11), USD $40 dollars (MX $527.59) in cash, according to official Mexican government reports.

• Units with the Mexican 34th Military Zone seized a small quantity of marijuana and illegal cigars in Quintana Roo state October 19th.  The seizing of the marijuana was incident to  traffic stop in Cancun city.  Soldiers detained one unidentified individuals and seized a vehicle.  The illegal cigars were found in an abandoned vehicle in the village of  Caobas in Othan P. Blanco municipality.  A total of 110,000 cigars in 11 boxes were seized.
• A Mexican army unit with the 8th Military Zone exchanged gunfire with an undetermined number of armed suspects killing three in Ciudad Victoria in Tamaulipas state October 20th.  The encounter took place in Tomas Yarrington colony of the city while the unit was on patrol when it came under small arms fire.  A total of three rifles, an undisclosed number of weapons magazines and one vehicle were seized in the aftermath.
• An army unit with the Mexican 22nd Military Zone seized and dismantled a hidden drug lab in Mexico state October 23rd.  The unit was on patrol in Temascaltepec municipality when the discovery was made.  Soldiers found one 150 liter capacity metallic reactor, one 200 liter dairy container, 30 liters of acetic anhydride, three  73 liter drums filled with hydrochloric acid, nine kilograms sacks of sodium acetate, six burners and other materiel.
• A Mexican Army unit with the 9th Military Zone seized quantities of diesel and gasoline in Sinaloa state October 22nd.  The site was located in the village of Mauto in Salvador Alvarado municipality.  A total of 11,000 liters of gasline and 7,000 liters of diesel fuel were found, along with eight 1,000 liter plastic containers and nine vehicles.
• An army unit with the Mexican 22nd Military Zone located and dismantled an illegal drug lab in Mexico state October 23rd.  The lab was found in the village of La Trampa in  Santa Ana Jilotzingo municipality where the unit had been on patrol.  The chemicals and equipment found were inside of two warehouses and included 20 bags of soda, eight bags of acid, 20 drums of isopropyl alcohol, 20 plastic drums of acetic anhydrone, 600 kilowatt generator, 23 30 kilograms gas tanks, eight clothes driers, 30 gages, seven gas masks and one bulletproof vest.
• A Mexican Army unit with the 8th Military Zone encountered armed suspects October 23rd in Tamaulipas state when soldiers were fired on by an indeterminate number of armed suspects.  The gunfight took place as the unit was on patrol in Anahuac colony in Nuevo Laredo municipality.  No one was reported killed or hurt in the encounter arms and munitions were seized in the aftermath, including six rifles, 36 weapons magazines,  950 rounds of ammunition, one grenade launcher, two fragmentation grenades and two vehicles.
• An army unit with the Mexican 8th Military Zone encountered armed suspects in Ciudad Nueva Guerrero municipality killing one unidentified armed suspect October 23rd.  The unit had been on patrol on the Nuevo Laredo to Ciudad Mier highway at the 171 kilometer mark when the gunfight took place.  Four rifles, weapons magazines and ammunition as well as one vehicle were seized by soldiers after the gunfight.
• A Mexican Army unit with the 8th Military Zone came under small arms fire October 24th in Tamaulipas state, returning fire and killing one unidentified armed suspect.  The unit had been on patrol near the 109 kilometer marker on the San Fernando  to Reynosa highway when it came under attack.  Materiel seized following the conclusion of the gunfight included five rifles, three vehicles, weapons magazines and ammunition, and one vehicle.
• Five unidentified suspects were detained and one kidnapping victim was released by a unit with the Mexican 12th Military Zone in San Luis Potosi state October 24th. The army unit with security forces from state and local governments conducted patrols in  San Luis Potosi city when the rescue took place.  In addition to the five detainees Mexican security forces also seized 13 rifles, one grenade launcher, five 40mm grenades, 43 weapons magazines, 879 rounds of ammunition and one car reported as stolen.
• A Mexican Army unit with the 8th Military Zone seized more than eight metric tons of marijuana in Tamauipas state October 22nd.  The unit has established a checkpojnt on the Reynosa, Tamaulipas to Monterrey, Nuevo Leon highway at about the 30 kilometer mark.  A tractor trailer rig was stopped and searched, and the drugs were found.  The total seized was 8,206.2 kilograms of marijuana. The truck driver was detained at the scene.
• Troops with the Mexican 9th Military Zone seized more than 400 kilograms of marijuana and an aircraft in Sinaloa state October 23rd.  The army unit was on patrol near the village of La Brecha in Guasave municipality when the discovery was made.  A total of 407.2 kilograms of marijuana were seized along with a Cessna brand Cessna 206 aircraft.
• An army unit with the 2nd Military Zone seized more than 300 kilograms of marijuana in Baja California state October 23rd.  While on patrol the unit found an abandoned vehicle in Alamitos colony in Mexicali municipality which had the drugs inside, 39 packages totalling 320.4 kilograms.
• Mexican Army troops with the 6th Military Zone exchanged gunfire with armed suspects October 26th.  The unit was on patrol in Allende municipality when the gunfight took place.  Army counterfire killed two unidentified armed suspects.  Materiel seized in the aftermath included drugs in 166 packages for retail sale, two handguns, one weapons magazine, 16 rounds of ammunition, MX $91,050.00 (USD $6903.11), USD $40 dollars (MX $527.59) in cash and one vehicle.
• An army patrol with the 6th Military Zone came under small arms fire in Coahuila state.  The encounter took place in Nava municlaity October 25th when the army unit came under small arms fire.  Army return fire killed three armed suspects.  Materiel seized included four rifles, 43 weapons magazines, ammunition and one vehicle.
• A pursuit in Baja California state October 26th ended with one unidentified individual detained and almost one metric ton of marijuana seized.  A Mexican army unit with the 2nd Military Zone had been dispatched to Lucio Blanco colony in Playas de Rosarito municipality based on an anonymous complaint.  When the driver of a vehicle attempted to flee the road patrol, the driver crashed the vehicle.  Inside soldiers found 997.7 kilograms of marijuana in 142 packages.  The driver was detained at the scene.
• An army road patrol with the Mexican 29th Military Zone seized quantities of drugs at a presumed traffic stop in Veracruz state October 26th.  The stop took place in  Coatzacoalcos municipality.  Soldiers found quantities of marijuana and crack cocaine, as well as 9,508 packages of powdered cocaine totalling 40.4 kilograms.  A total of MX $1,000 (USD $75.82), a radio and a vehicle were also seized.  The driver of the vehicle was detained at the scene.
• Troops with the Mexican 28th Military Zone rescued one kidnap victim in an armed encounter in Veracruz state October 26th.  The patrol had been dispatched to Villa Azueta municipality based on an anonymous complaint, when it came under small arms fire.  Army return fire killed one armed suspect.  Three suspects were also detained at the scene.  Soldiers also seized three rifles, two handguns and one vehicle following the rescue.
• An army unit with the Mexican 41st Military Zone located almost 50,000 liters of gasoline in Jalisco state October 25th.  The fuel was discovered in Villa Purification municipality.  A total of 49,600 liters were found along with a 10,000 liter tanker and three vehicles.
• Soldiers with the Mexican 45th military Zone located weapons in Caborca el Arenoso in Sonora state October 25th.  Weapons seized included two rifles, one handgun, 14 weapons magazines, 314 rounds of ammunition, a quantity of marijuana, tactical gear and one vehicle. 
• On October 26th army units with the Mexican 45th Military Zone seized weapons in Nogales municipality in Sonora state.  Weapons seized included four rifles, one fragmentation grenade, two smoke grenades, 646 rounds of ammunition,  36 weapons magazines and one vehicle.  In a second incident soldiers located and seized four rifles, one handgun, two smoke grenades, one car, 72 weapons magazines, 430 rounds of ammunition and tactical gear.
• Army units with the Mexican 34th Military Zone located a quantity of marijuana, presumably in the water along the coast of Cozumel municipality in Quntana Roo state October 26th.  The drugs were found between Mezcalitos to Punta Chiqueros and totalled 17.535 kilograms.
• Mexican Army units with the 4th Military Zone seized a quantity of methamphetamine in Sonora state October 27th.  The unit had established a military checkpoint in Opodepe municipality and stopped a vehicle with two unidentified individuals aboard.  A total of 2.5 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine were found inside two wooden tortilla presses.  The driver and passenger were detained at the scene.
• A Mexican Army unit with the 4th Military Zone seized a quantity of heroin in Sonora state October 27th.  The unit has set up a checkpoint on kilometer 73 of Mexico Federal Highway 15 in  Navojoa municipality, and stopped and searched a passenger bus.  The search turned up a briefcase with 2.3 kilograms of heroin.  One passenger was detained at the scene.
• Mexican Army units with the 8th Military Zone seized more than three metric tons of marijuana in Tamaulipas state October 26th in two separate raids.  The first raid was undertaken in ejido Echeverria ejido in Diaz Ordaz municipality where soldiers located 839.4 kilograms of marijuana in a vacant lot.  In the second raid in the village of Valadeces, an army unit located 2,458.5 kilograms of marijuana, also in Diaz Ordaz municipality.
• Army units with the Mexican 35th Military Zone exchanged gunfire with armed suspects in Guerrero state October 28th.  The encounter took place in the village of Zacapuato in Cutzamala de Pinzo municipality where a road patrol came under small arms fire.  Army return fire killed four armed suspects.  Also seized after the encounter were five rifles, one fragmentation grenade, 30 weapons magazines, 810 rounds of ammunition, tactical gear and one vehicle.
• Mexican Army units with the 44th Military Zone seized more than one metric tons of marijuana in Oaxaca state October 27th.  The unit has been dispatched to a location near the village of  Miahuatlan in Porfirio Diaz municipality based on an anonymous complaint where 1,100 kilograms of unprocessed marijuana were found in several packages.
• An army unit with the 45th Military Zone in coordination with  Sonora state police agents located and seized more than 2 metric tons of marijuana in Sonora state October 29th.  The raid took place at a ranch in Nogales municipality where security forces located 2,260.7 kilograms of marijuana in 273 packages.

Badanov's Burnt Blunt Special

Army units with the 2nd Military Zone incinerated more than 7 metric tons of marijuana at an army base in Aguaje de la Tuna in Baja California state.  In addition to the 7,551.58 kilograms of marijuana destroyed, also destroyed by fire were 6 grams of methamphetamine, 20 marijuana plants, 15.550 grams of acetone, 23.7978 kilograms of chemicals.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com