The Sinaloa Cartel is seeking to lure Mexican chemistry students into joining its ranks as it seeks to increase control of the opioid's entire supply chain. To do so, it is paying them twice as much as they would earn working in a legal industry, according to a new report by The New York Times.
Concretely, prospective "cooks" are being offered an upfront payment of $800 and a monthly salary of that same amount, twice the average salary of chemists across Mexico. Students have been lured into the job by dire economic circumstances or family obligations, which end up weighing more than ethical or safety concerns.
Asides from the salary, some recruits have received assistance with their tuition in exchange for their commitment. A cartel recruiter described the model as similar to corporate investments, looking to attract the most capable individuals.
Some recruits are tasked with conducting experiments to enhance the drug's power or to synthesize precursors to reduce their reliance on such imports from China. To do so, they often end up working under dangerous conditions in clandestine labs. Despite protective measures like hazmat suits, they face risks from toxic exposure, explosions, and violence if they fail to deliver what is expected of them.
Despite the fact that manufacturing fentanyl when precursors are available is relatively easy, synthesizing these chemicals from scratch requires advanced techniques. Students are placed in research roles where trial and error dominate their work. One student described being blindfolded and driven to a remote lab where he joined a team attempting to create precursors.
The recruitment trend appears to have accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted global supply chains and restricted access to essential chemicals from China. A leaked 2020 Mexican intelligence report noted efforts by the Sinaloa Cartel to enlist chemistry professors and get them to develop precursors. U.S. officials corroborated the findings, reporting arrests of young chemists in fentanyl labs who admitted to working on precursors and refining the drug's formula.
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