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mexico-fentanyl-chemistry-students.html

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A person wears a ski mask and sunglasses to protect his identity.

Mexican Cartels Lure Chemistry Students to Make Fentanyl

Criminals turn college campuses into recruitment hubs, recruiting
chemistry students in Mexico with big paydays.

A 19-year-old sophomore chemistry major, who also works for the
Sinaloa drug cartel, at a stash house.Credit...Meridith Kohut for The
New York Times

Mexican Cartels Lure Chemistry Students to Make Fentanyl

Criminals turn college campuses into recruitment hubs, recruiting
chemistry students in Mexico with big paydays.

A 19-year-old sophomore chemistry major, who also works for the
Sinaloa drug cartel, at a stash house.Credit...Meridith Kohut for The
New York Times

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By Natalie Kitroeff and Paulina Villegas

Reporting from Culiacan in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, the
stronghold of the Sinaloa Cartel and a hub of fentanyl production

  * Dec. 1, 2024

Leer en espanol

The cartel recruiter slipped onto campus disguised as a janitor and
then zeroed in on his target: a sophomore chemistry student.

The recruiter explained that the cartel was staffing up for a
project, and that he'd heard good things about the young man.

"'You're good at what you do,'" the student recalled the recruiter
saying. "'You decide if you're interested.'"

In their quest to build fentanyl empires, Mexican criminal groups are
turning to an unusual talent pool: not hit men or corrupt police
officers, but chemistry students studying at Mexican universities.

People who make fentanyl in cartel labs, who are called cooks, told
The New York Times that they needed workers with advanced knowledge
of chemistry to help make the drug stronger and "get more people
hooked," as one cook put it.

The cartels also have a more ambitious goal: to synthesize the
chemical compounds, known as precursors, that are essential to making
fentanyl, freeing them from having to import those raw materials from
China.

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