Mexico’s gangs take over crystal meth trade

Mexican drug-trafficking organizations have largely taken over the production and distribution of crystal methamphetamine in California, according to a report in the Arizona Republic. “As the raw materials become harder to get, small-time cooks are being put out of business. The Mexican cartels have rushed to fill the demand with California-based superlabs, which can produce more than 10 pounds of meth a day” the report said, “less sophisticated cooks are usually caught when neighbors notice chemical smells or suspicious people hanging around at odd hours. But the Mexican cartels have built their superlabs shacks in remote areas of California’s Central Valley”. The cartels’ labs in Mexico and California now produce about 80 percent of the meth in the United States, according to a November report by the U.S. National Drug Intelligence Center.