Thus the Sinaloa Cartel US. Indian reservations are used to traffic fentanyl

In an effort to expand its criminal operations based on fentanyl trafficking, the The Sinaloa Cartel found in Indian reservation A great opportunity in the northern United States.

A recent investigation of NBC NewsSupported by court documents, showing that State of Montana It has become a base of operations for this criminal group due to the lack of surveillance in these areas and difficulties for law enforcement agencies to crack down on tribals.

The discovery of this drug trafficking network dates back to March 2020, when security elements were detained Ricardo Ramos Medina, a former Mexican police officer who had half a kilogram of methamphetamine in his truck. He picked her up at a location near San Diego International Airport and was on a mission to take her overland to Montana.

Ramos Medina was part of a Sinaloa cartel cell that, according to estimates cited by several prosecutors NBC Newsbrought at least one ton of methamphetamine into Montana and 700 thousand fentanyl pills for three years.

Although the case initially confused the authorities, they soon realized why the state adjacent to Canada was so attractive to cartels.

Stacey Zinn, a former Drug Enforcement Administration agent (DEA), revealed to the media that fentanyl could be sold in Montana Up to 20 times more expensive than other regions of the country.

With a production cost of less than a dollar, a pill of this opioid typically sells for between three and five dollars in Seattle and Denver. However, in some parts of Montana A fentanyl pill can cost up to $100.

In order to infiltrate some reservations, cartel members began making alliances with tribal women so they could sell drugs. Additionally, they often attract Native Americans by giving them an initial batch of drugs and “turning them over.” addicted to debt”, explains the research.

Methamphetamine production centers were once common in Montana, but were sidelined by restrictions on the precursor chemicals needed to make them.

As a result, the Sinaloa cartel began sending informants to the reservation to find out who was distributing small amounts of drugs and to select their targets. Mostly, they harass single women in tribals and They use their homes as a base of operations.

In addition to the high rates of drug addiction noted in the report, the rare presence of law enforcement makes these communities an ideal target for cartels.

For example, the Northern Cheyenne tribe has two tribal police officers per shift to protect its six thousand residents, while Crow Reserve It has four to six police officers per shift. Added to this, in general, these security forces are prohibited from arresting people outside the reservation and, for state authorities to intervene, must have an agreement with the tribes.

And yet Ramos led to the capture of Medina 21 additional members of the Sinaloa cartel arrested Of which this cell is composed, Indian reservations still face difficulties in terms of security personnel and their hospital requirements to deal with various substance addiction cases.