'Cartels are scrambling': Virus snarls global drug trade
Excerpt: Coronavirus is dealing a gut punch to the illegal drug trade, paralyzing economies, closing borders and severing supply chains in China that traffickers rely on for the chemicals to make such profitable drugs as methamphetamine and fentanyl. One of the main suppliers that shut down is in Wuhan, the epicenter of the global outbreak. Associated Press interviews with nearly two dozen law enforcement officials and trafficking experts found Mexican and Colombian cartels are still plying their trade as evidenced by recent drug seizures but the lockdowns that have turned cities into ghost towns are disrupting everything from production to transport to sales. (...) “Some cartels have given direct orders to members of their organization that anyone caught selling methamphetamine during this time will be killed,” said Brown, whose sprawling jurisdiction stretches from the suburbs of Dallas to Beaumont. To be sure, narcotics are still making their way into the U.S., as evidenced by a bust last month in which nearly $30 million worth of street drugs were seized in a new smuggling tunnel connecting a warehouse in Tijuana to southern San Diego. Shelley said that bust was notable in that only about 2 pounds of fentanyl was recovered, “much lower than usual shipments.” [Of course scarcity means the street prices will go up, too, so the consumers will take a hard financial hit to feed their habits. At least it’s nice to know the rascals are having financial problems like everyone else. Some years ago, Tom Clancy wrote a wish-fulfillment novel called “Without Remorse” about killing off a bunch of drug dealers. Too bad it was fiction. During this time of the dealers being easier to pick out ought to make them just a bit uncomfortable. Ron P.]
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