In Mexico, the center of world drug production and trade, events reminiscent of the TV series Breaking Bad are taking place. It was learned that drug cartels target chemistry students by hiring them as janitors at universities and encourage them to work on behalf of the cartel. Cartels that aim to produce fentanyl to increase the addiction of drug users need chemistry students for this process. The salaries offered by the cartels to students were also revealed.
BREAKING BAD HAS BECOME REAL
In the TV series Breaking Bad, which is considered the best series of all time by many independent TV series, chemistry teacher Walter White used his skills in chemistry to produce drugs in order to leave a future for his family in his boring life after learning that he had cancer.
Heisengberg, also known as Heisengberg, who became famous after the high purity of the methamphetamine he produced and started the drug trade, became a world-wide drug lord all by himself.
THEY OFFER TWICE WHAT GRADUATES EARN
According to the news on NTV, cartels that want to produce stronger fentanyl to make drug users addicted need employees with high-level chemistry knowledge. For this reason, cartel members who target chemistry students at the university call fentanyl producers “cooks”.
A second-year chemistry student said the $800 monthly salary offered by the cartel was nearly twice what graduates earned.
Students stated that they had different jobs within the criminal organization. Sometimes, he said, they conduct experiments to strengthen the drug or create precursors.
At other times, they reported supervising or working with cooks and helpers who mass produced fentanyl.
CHEMISTRY PROFESSORS ARE BEING EMPLOYED
A 2020 Mexican intelligence assessment leaked by a hacker group revealed that the Sinaloa Cartel hired chemistry professors to develop fentanyl after the pandemic slowed its supply chains.
PROFESSORS IN REBELLION: “THEY ENROLL FOR COURSES TO MAKE DRUGS”
A chemistry professor at a university in Sinaloa State said some students are enrolling in chemistry classes just to become more familiar with the skills needed to cook synthetic drugs.
The cartels also have an ambitious goal: to synthesize the chemical compounds indispensable for the production of fentanyl, thus avoiding the necessity of importing these raw materials from China.
If they succeed, it would mean a frightening new phase in the fentanyl crisis, U.S. officials say.
It is estimated that 107 thousand 543 people will die from overdose in the USA alone in 2023. Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl played a role in the deaths of 74 thousand 702 of them.
Source: NTV