"This is the largest methamphetamine precursor seizure in US history," US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said at a warehouse at the port of Houston, Texas, on 3/9.

The precursors were contained in 13,000 blue barrels, shipped by sea on two separate vessels, and destined for Sinaloa cartel's drug labs in Mexico.

US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jeanine Pirro at the warehouse in Texas, 3/9. Photo: AFP

US authorities intercepted the two ships at sea last week. The shipment was then consolidated in Panama and transferred to a warehouse in Houston. The chemicals could have produced 190 tons of methamphetamine, with a street value of 569 million USD in Houston. Drug overdose is the leading cause of death for people aged 18-45 in the US.

A day earlier, President Donald Trump announced that the US military had sunk a "drug boat" from Venezuela, killing 11 "drug terrorists" believed to be members of the Tren de Aragua gang.

Trump also signed an executive order authorizing US military action against drug cartels and designated Mexico's Sinaloa cartel as a terrorist organization.

Duc Trung (According to AFP, FOX News)