Mexican anti-drug investigators discovered more than 1.2 million fentanyl pills in beehives.
The haul was seized after the police in the state of Sinaloa were tipped off that couriers were delivering drugs guarded by honeybee colonies.
The authorities also confiscated 70 kilogrammes (154 lbs) of methamphetamine and five kilogrammes (11 lbs) of cocaine.
The officers had to call in trained experts to calm the pollinators so they could open the hives and search for the drugs.
Mexican news websites reported that officers had stopped a vehicle on the Culiacan – Los Mochis Highway after receiving an anonymous tip.
They arrested the driver after finding that the hives he was transporting contained more than 1.2 million pills of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is around 100 times more potent than morphine.
NewsX, a news community the Bee News is a part of, obtained a statement from the Mexican Attorney General’s Office.
The authority announced: “The Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC), coordinated by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in the State of Sinaloa, both dependent on the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), seized around 1,210,000 fentanyl pills, 70 kilogrammes of methamphetamine and five kilogrammes of cocaine.”
The authority added that wooden boxes featuring honeycombs were discovered in the car the officers had stopped.
It explained: “Due to the risk, it was decided to move them to the FGR’s facilities where personnel specialised in bee management located approximately 125 kilogrammes of fentanyl inside some of the boxes of which four kilogrammes correspond to powdered fentanyl, and 121 kilogrammes to around 1,210,000 pills.
“Furthermore, 70 kilogrammes of methamphetamine and five kilogrammes of cocaine were confiscated.”
Mexico and China are considered the primary sources of fentanyl trafficked directly into the United States, according to the U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Jürgen Stock, the secretary general of Interpol, recently warned that fentanyl had to be regarded as an “imminent threat” to Europe.
The investigation into the network behind the foiled drug-trafficking operation in Sinaloa continues.
