Tijuano for Borderland Beat
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Almost 5 tons of Marijuana were seized in a check point in San Ignacio, BCS.
The first investigations regarding this seizure of almost 5 tons of drugs in a checkpoint in San Ignacio, BCS exposed that the shipment was property of the Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.
The narcotic came from Sinaloa and had Tijuana as destination, after crossing without issue the checkpoints installed in 4 cities in Sinaloa and 4 more in Sonora, as well as 2 checkpoints in Baja California Sur it was finally detected by members of the Mexican Army belonging to the 40th Military Zone in the 2nd Region.
The seizure automatically became the 2nd biggest hit in history to the Sinaloa Cartel in the state, where paradoxically, only one person was detained.
First reports indicate that the drug came hidden inside a gas tanker with PG2544-A as tags, no company names and with stickers of “Danger, transports hazardous material”, the following was found inside the tanker:
1. 481 large packages and 50 small packages containing marijuana with a total weight of 4 tons 763 kilograms (10,500 lbs.)
2. 10 plastic containers with a total weight of 5.9 kilograms (13 pounds) of Crystal Meth.
The drugs have an approximated value -according to military estimates- of almost 77 million Mexican Pesos (about 6.4 million USD)
The detainee explains that the route the drug travelled started in Navolato, crossed thru Culiacan, Guasave, Guamuchil and Los Mochis in Sinaloa, from there it entered Sonora passing thru Navojoa, Ciudad Obregon, Empalme and Guaymas.
Then the cargo ship that covers the Guaymas-Santa Rosalia route was used, from there it traveled by San Ignacio until the highway checkpoint where it was detected.
Then the cargo ship that covers the Guaymas-Santa Rosalia route was used, from there it traveled by San Ignacio until the highway checkpoint where it was detected.
In the whole journey followed by the drugs nobody found it. Municipal, State, Ministerial and Federal police, even officers of the Navy Ministry didn´t discover the drugs which led to the detainee to believe he was “going to arrive without issues to Tijuana”.
The day of the seizure, the army men stopped vehicles in the San Ignacio community checkpoint and asked passengers to step out and allow for a routine check.
The officers told ZETA magazine that it was a high traffic day, because although few cars travelled the Transpeninsular highway, there were between 8 and 10 units awaiting examination.
The inspection was slow, since –according to military checkpoint protocols-, the passengers had to step out of the vehicles, explain their place of origin and destination, and also answer questions from an army officer regarding name and employment.
All that data was written in a notebook along with the license plates, color, brand and model of the unit.
All that data was written in a notebook along with the license plates, color, brand and model of the unit.
However, when the tanker was to be inspected the army personal noticed something was wrong right away. According to one of the officers that participated in the checkpoint there were many inconsistencies in the unit with the parameters set by the Energy Ministry. The following are some of them:
1. The unit didn´t have the total capacity in liters painted on it.
2. The number 1075 was missing from the red rhombus which is the mandatory international symbol which identifies “LP Gas”.
3. The unit was missing the “LP Gas distribution service” sticker.
All those were major clues to know that it was in fact a “camouflaged tanker”, then it was submitted to a meticulous inspection until they found the drug packages.
The driver was put under arrest and the drugs and unite were seized and put at the disposition of the Federal Attorney General office (Procuraduria General de la Republica).
Another major hit to the Sinaloa Cartel was given in November 19th, 2012 when officers belonging to the Mexican Navy seized 8 tons of marijuana that were being transported in deep seas aboard the shrimp vessel “Alejandro TJ”.
"Alejandro TJ"
In that operation there were 7 people arrested when they were detected 1.7 miles away from the Puerto Cortes naval base, in Isla Margarita. The vessel was carrying 2,292 packages of marijuana with a total weight of 8 thousand 127 kilograms.
The new route.
Navolato to Tijuana, new narco route.
The only detainee in the seizure said this wasn´t the first time he was in this situation and that he worked for the Sinaloa Cartel. The shipment was to be handed over in the city of Tijuana, in a place “yet to be defined”, and then sent to California. The criminal was not willing to cooperate until he “spoke with his lawyer”....[continues on next page]
About this historic seizure, and according to one member of the Coordination Group, the cartels are trying to change their drug smuggling routes, this after the Secondary Inspection Module in the maritime terminal in Pichilingue, La Paz stated operations, this is considered the main entrance spot in Baja California Sur.
This unit, which was inaugurated June 9th, 2012 is equipped with x-rays, weapon detectors, and the Plataforma Mexico system (which help identify criminals all over Mexico), it also has personnel from the State Public Safety Ministry, and Mexican Army and Navy.
From that point on and until January 2013, almost 20 criminals were apprehended when they arrived looking for a place to hide from their arrest warrants from states like Sinaloa, Baja California, Oaxaca, Durango and others.
That checkpoint is so functional that the United States Embassy recently proposed to include Baja California Sur in the Merida Initiative, and sent resources to equip the checkpoints in the airports of Los Cabos, La Paz and Guerrero Negro, because, according to an American Government analysis, “they are strategic points in matters of border security and inspection points in Mexico”.
In 2012, the terminal of Pichilingue was stage for some important hits, one of them in January 7th, when a shipment of 16 kilograms (35 lbs.) of heroin was seized. A smuggler by the name of Manuel Rodriguez Garcia was apprehended that day.
The drug belonged to Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, and was to be delivered to the State Police agent Miguel Alberto Ayala Peña, whom at the same time had to deliver it to the criminal organization known as “Los Zamudio”.
That same year, in the secondary inspection point the Mexican Army seized almost 650 kilograms of marijuana being transported in a “touristic” passenger bus. On this occasion 2 people were arrested, they confessed to be hired to transport the bus from Mazatlan to Vizcaino, and that the drug was to be handed over to the former plaza boss, Juan Beltran Beltran aka “El Indio”.
It was for this situation that the criminal organization of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman created a new route of drug smuggling –besides the ones he has by sea and air- between Guaymas, Sonora and Santa Rosalia. This new route offers some advantages according to a Coordination Group member analysis, the main ones being Santa Rosalia doesn´t have the high tech and certified personnel like Pichilingue and that Santa Rosalia has few personnel, mainly of the Navy Ministry and since it´s far from the main cities it’s not hard to bribe them.