The Mexican navy reported on Friday that it had confiscated more than 8.3 tonnes of narcotics in the Pacific Ocean, setting a record for a single naval operation.
“Navy personnel seized 8,361 kilograms of illegal cargo, which represents the largest amount of drugs seized in a maritime operation, unprecedented in history,” said a statement from the Ministry of the Navy.
The type of drugs was not specified, although they were valued at 2.099 billion pesos (about $105 million).
Twenty-three people were arrested during the bust which took place southwest of the port of Lazaro Cardenas, off the western coast of Mexico.
The drugs were distributed in six small boats and one of the vessels was a submersible, which implied a “complex” action on the part of the sailors, added the ministry.
The largest drug seizure in Mexico’s history was 23 tonnes of Colombian cocaine in November 2007.
Mexico has for decades been the hub of drug trafficking to the United States, with a large number of cartels fighting for control of the trade.
The state of Michoacan, off the coast of which the seizure occurred, has seen conflicts between criminal gangs, including the infamous Jalisco Nueva Generacion cartel, one of Mexico’s most powerful and ruthless criminal organizations.
The latest raid reported on Friday was carried out “days ago” by surface units backed by a helicopter, the ministry said.
Some 8,700 liters of fuel, another of the illicit trades controlled by drug cartels, were also found on the raided vessels.
On August 23, authorities reported they had impounded about seven tonnes of drugs in two separate operations in the same area of the country.
The Mexican navy, which performs continuous surveillance operations, has detected a wide range of narcotics shipments, including one containing cocaine concealed in 217 barrels of chili sauce in 2016.
Mexico has for decades been a drug trafficking route to the United States, which has sparked disputes between different narco groups.
The country’s first woman president Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office on October 1, faces a major challenge to tackle the drug cartels and related crimes.
She has pledged to stick with her predecessor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s “hugs not bullets” strategy of using social policy to tackle crime at its roots.
