A port worker in a protective facemask as he walks past a cargo ship at a port in Qingdao in China's eastern Shandong province. Sinaloa cartel operatives in Mexico told VICE this week that importing the chemical precursors they need to make methamphetamine and illicit fentanyl has become harder and more complicated, which is creating a shortage and pushing up prices.
Production of methamphetamine and fentanyl is still happening, he said, but at lower rates than usual. Much of this has been supplied in bulk in cargo rather than via the postal system.
Some of the substances are not controlled, such as ammonium chloride and formaldehyde, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration DEA , making them easier to source through legitimate companies in China to legitimate or front companies in Mexico. Even though China appears to be turning a corner on COVID, the most recent data showed that Chinese companies have been operating at 50 percent capacity, with around half of their normal staff, according to research earlier this month by the Institute for Supply Management ISM.
As a result, six in ten companies are experiencing a delay in delivery and a delay loading goods at Chinese ports. Methamphetamine seizures have been on the rise in the United States in recent years, and the purity and potency of the drug have been increasing.
These price changes took place two or three weeks ago. Dark web dealers in the United States are also warning of price increases in meth due to the difficulty of bringing in the necessary precursors. As it pertains to drugs, demand will decline as people are less likely to go out and party, less likely to congregate, and the most chronic of users are likely to be in poor health and succumb to the virus.
