Upswing in Mexican Meth Smuggling Found in Southwestern U.S.

(Fall 2015) Mexico has seen a dramatic rise in methamphetamine production because it is cheaper and easier to make there than within the United States’ borders. As a result, border authorities in Arizona have confiscated over 3,200 pounds of the drug between October 2014 and May 2015. This is approximately the same amount seized by Arizona’s border patrol during the last fiscal year.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, meth has also been detected in San Diego. Customs officials there recovered over 60% of the country’s meth seizures within the past fiscal year. All told, meth detection has tripled on California’s border from 2009 to 2014. As confiscation of cocaine, marijuana and heroin have decreased during the past year, the detection of meth has increased 8%.

Mexican drug cartels have taken advantage of U.S. laws aimed at reducing American production of meth such as restricting access to the precursor drugs. In fact, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) reported that only 10% of meth consumed by Americans does not originate from Mexico. Mexican meth can be produced in “super labs” that churn out hundreds of pounds at a time, at a higher quality than what is produced domestically. Larger scale of operations south of the border have caused meth prices have dropped from $30,000 per pound to $8,000-$10,000 per pound.

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