8.5 Tons of Liquid Methamphetamine Hidden in Tequila Bottles Seized from Manzanillo Port

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A K9 sniffer dog alerted inspectors to a load of over 11,500 bottles of tequila bound for export. Those bottles contained approximately 8,640 kilograms (about 19,000 pounds) of liquid meth. The discovery was made over the weekend at the Pacific coast seaport of Manzanillo, the Mexican Navy said. 

Don Chicho Tequila Bottles Used

In photos released by SEMAR and the Government of Mexico, the tequila bottle labels are blurred out. However, the open boxes in the background display Don Chicho Tequila logos. The bottles shown are their Tequila Reposado, which retails for around $80 in the US for the 750-mL bottle. Reposado is a type of tequila that is aged for up to 1 year and matches the golden color of the liquid in the bottles.

It is possible the tequila company is not involved either directly or indirectly in the trafficking attempt. Reposado, Anejo, and Silver tequilas from Don Chicho are available on a few online retailer sites. The www.donchichotequila.com website states "WEBSITE COMING SOON!!!" and was registered via GoDaddy in 2018.  A US trademark for the brand was filed in 2012 and registered in 2016.

A Don Chicho Tequila business is listed in North Hollywood, California. Its Google Business profile was updated recently to show it as “Temporarily Closed.”

Destiladora Juanacatlan in Jalisco, Mexico.

The bottling company for Don Chicho tequila based in Mexico is Destiladora Juanacatlan. On their company information page on their website, they state that they do the packaging of some American brands linked to the company. As well as their Carreta de Oro brand tequila.

"It began with the Carreta de Oro brand as an institutional symbol of being on the move, carrying something of value with you. With the representations of Tequila Blanco, Reposado and Añejo, along with the packaging of some American brands linked to the company, Destiladora Juanacatlán began to share a high-quality product with the world."

Mexico is the world's only producer of authentic tequila. There have not been any reported instances of such bottles reaching consumers. Mexico has become a major producer of meth, and drug smugglers frequently are stopped at the border with liquid meth in their windshield washer fluid or other containers in their cars. The liquid meth is usually recovered by smugglers and taken to specialized facilities where the water is extracted and the drug is then returned to its crystal form. During this year, the Secretary of the Navy, through the Mexican Navy, seized and destroyed approximately 114.3 tons of methamphetamine.

Source GOB.MX, CBS News, Destiladora Juanacatlan, Justia