Sinaloa Cartel's El Inge Arrested Along With A Fentanyl Seizure Worth $47 Million USD

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Soldiers from the Army (SEDENA) detained Armando N, alias "El Inge", an alleged leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, inside a synthetic drug laboratory where they then carried out the largest seizure of pure fentanyl in history. 

On November 4, 2021, SEDENA put out a press release about a secret raid they had carried out on October 28, 2021. The press release reads as follows:

Mexican Army, National Guard and FGR arrested Armando N alias El Inge, leader of the Pacific Cartel in Sinaloa.

- 118 kilograms of fentanyl paste and a laboratory to produce synthetic drug were seized 

- It is considered the most important seizure of pure fentanyl in history, exceeding 970 million pesos in the market 

- The laboratory seized can produce 70 kilograms of fentanyl base paste monthly 

- From each kilogram of fentanyl paste, up to one million pills can be produced

Mexico City, November 4, 2021.- The Ministry of National Defense, National Guard (GN) and the Attorney General's Office (FGR) inform that on November 2, 2021, the competent judge ordered the indictment for the crime of organized crime of Armando N (a) El Inge, the alleged leader of a criminal cell dedicated to the production of synthetic drugs in Culiacán, Sinaloa, as well as four of his collaborators, who were arrested on October 28, 2021, by personnel from the Mexican Army and the G.N., in support of the FGR, within the framework of the National Strategy for the Prevention of Addictions Together for Peace. 

As a result of the ministerial investigations carried out by the F.G.R. and intelligence activities, it was possible to locate a building used as a synthetic drug laboratory, in which the members of the criminal cell were hiding, as well as another building used as a storage center and three more, where the following was seized:

-118 kilograms of paste with the characteristics of fentanyl.

-Four bags of precursor chemicals for fentanyl paste.

-Two kilograms of a chemical compound with characteristics similar to Inositol.

-One long barrel firearm

-Four handguns.

-1,050 bullets of various calibers.

-Two vehicles.

-$86,000.00 pesos (MXN)

-$14,660 dollars (USD)

-160 bolivares (VED)

-Tools for the production of synthetic drugs.

This seizure of pure fentanyl is considered the largest in history, which would have an estimated price in the national market of $970,432,000.00 pesos, thus preventing this type of addictive substances from reaching Mexican youth and affecting their integral development.

It is presumed that the activity of those arrested consisted of the monthly production of approximately 70 kilograms of base paste for use in the manufacture of approximately 70 million fentanyl pills to supply the Pacific Cartel [more often known as the Sinaloa Cartel], with both national and international logistical presence.

As stated in the above press release, the FGR has estimated the worth of the seizure of pure fentanyl to be $970,432,000.00 pesos which is approximately $47,707,706.00 USD at today’s current exchange rate, making this a 47 million dollar seizure.

Along with the press release the Army (SEDENA) tweeted out the following photos, with the abysmal resolution of the photos unexplained:

Image appears to have been stretched.

IWI Jericho 941

Please note that some news publications are currently using the below photo in their coverage of the story, however the Armando ‘G’ shown below was arrested on June 21, 2020 in the Jardines del Country neighborhood, in the city of Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco.

 

Armando ‘G’ shown above is speculated by some to be a Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generation (CJNG) operator known by the alias “El Maximo” or (at the time) “Delta 1”. He was not speculated to be a Sinaloa Cartel operator working within Sinaloa during the time of his arrest. 

It is always possible that the man photographed is the very same person who was arrested in Sinaloa but it is more likely that certain news outlets have simply misidentified the man arrested with the wrong photo despite the man in the press release being called Armando 'N' and the photo showing an Armando ‘G’.

Sources: Official Press Release, SEDENA Tweet of Photos, El Sol de Mexico, El Heraldo de Mexico, Excelsior, La Opinion, La Octavia, UnoTV, Infobae, Expreso   

The Guadalajara Armando ‘G’ Arrest Sources: El Occidental, El Imparcial