Authorities Raid Pharmacies at Popular Tourist Destination: Were Americans Buying Fentanyl-Laced Meds?
Mexican authorities raided several pharmacies in popular tourist destinations last month for fentanyl-laced pills, according to the Los Angeles Times.
A Times investigation this year found that some pharmacies in northwest Mexico, including in places such as Cabo San Lucas and Tijuana, sold what appeared to be Adderall, Xanax and Oxycodone pills that were laced with fentanyl.
For my first story @latimes, I went to Mexico and got drugs.
Specifically, @ConnorASheets and I went to pharmacies, got pills & tested them.
Turns out, some are selling oxy & Adderall over the counter – but the pills are actually fentanyl & meth. https://t.co/zDmaCVJ5K6
— Keri Blakinger (@keribla) February 2, 2023
Authorities seized roughly 25,000 pills, which contained unauthorized controlled substances and no fentanyl or methamphetamine, as a result of the recent operation, according to the Times, citing a statement from Alejandro Torres Pineda, a delegate of the attorney general’s office in Baja California Sur.
“We’re continuing the investigations,” Pineda said in a phone interview last week with the Times.
He added that the seizures were important “because the sale of controlled medicines is inhibited, the health of citizens is protected and the type of medicines sold in pharmacies is controlled.”
Federal authorities in Mexico interviewed people at different pharmacies in Los Cabos ahead of the raid, finding a customer with unregulated pills, according to the Times.
A judge subsequently granted authorities permission to conduct raids of area pharmacies, which occurred at five different locations in June.
Those raids resulted in the confiscation of thousands of dollars in cash as well as the arrests of three pharmacy employees and one business owner, according to the Times.
“In terms of security, the work coordinated by three levels of government is yielding good results, with the aim of guaranteeing the safety of locals and visitors,” Jesús Antonio Gómez Rodríguez, the municipal director of public safety in Los Cabos, said, according to the Times.
“It’s protecting the health of our young people who can fall into the clutches of drugs, as well as the numerous groups of visitors who come to our municipality to enjoy its natural beauties and tourist services,” Rodríguez said.
Illicit fentanyl is largely responsible for the more than 100,000 overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2021.
The synthetic drug is mainly produced by cartels in Mexico with precursor chemicals from China, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Mary Harrell, whose son died after taking a fentanyl-laced pill he brought from a pharmacy in Cabo San Lucas, said she wished Mexico’s actions happened sooner and were more serious.
“It’s not going to stop,” Harrell said.
“If it were a real cleanup you’d have the president going after it — but you don’t,” she said.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation.
For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
