Weekly InSight

This week, InSight Crime investigates China’s precursor supply chain. Chinese vendors are using the dark web to hawk highly controlled chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl. We contacted the sellers and visited chemical exporters in person to learn more about China’s role in the synthetic drug boom.  


We also talk to investigator Victoria Dittmar who gives us the story behind InSight Crime’s groundbreaking investigation into gang violence in a female penitentiary in Honduras just weeks before it became the site of one of the most violent prison massacres in the country’s history.  


Meanwhile, Mexico severed diplomatic ties with Ecuador after security forces raided the Mexican embassy in Quito to detain a former vice president; Colombian criminal groups are taking advantage of ceasefire agreements to strengthen their criminal governance; and extortion in the Colombian department of Atlántico has spiked as criminal groups try to compensate for a fall in cocaine revenues. 


This and more below.

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We were in a remote city in mainland China, also referred to as the People’s Republic of China, when we met Wang. Wang is short and has a protruding belly that on that day stretched the buttons on his brown, Louis Vuitton shirt. His jewelry shop is tucked away in the lonely recesses of the city. Given the location and timing — China was still living under the government’s strict COVID-19 pandemic restrictions — we did not expect much fanfare. 


But inside, we noticed a plethora of treasures from what could have been a lost pirate ship’s booty — among them, a few random emerald rings, a pair of diamond bracelets, and a dusty gold ring with a sapphire square embedded in it. 


Read the investigation >

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-Founder, Jeremy McDermott spoke to German broadcaster Deutsche Welle to highlight Europe’s growing role in the cocaine trade. InSight Crime’s global network of analysts allows the organization to offer leading analysis of illicit markets and criminal groups. 


The quantities of cocaine shipped to Europe are booming. Last year, authorities in Belgium seized 116 tons of cocaine at the Port of Antwerp alone. What’s more, wholesale cocaine prices in Europe can reach $40,000 per kilogram, almost double the prices traffickers can fetch in the United States. 


“The most lucrative chain is the moving of cocaine from Latin America to Europe,” said McDermott. “This is where the big money is. This is where everyone wants to get involved.”

 

Read the 2023 Cocaine Seizure Round-Up >

Read our European cocaine investigation >

In Mexico, criminal groups are increasingly using drones to commit violence against civilian populations. The most recent attacks were perpetrated by members of the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (CJNG) who used drones armed with explosives and chemicals to displace residents from three rural towns in Michoacán.


The CJNG is one of Mexico’s most powerful cartels. Formed from a faction of the Milenio Cartel in 2009, the group developed a reputation for deploying lurid displays of violence and brazen attacks against civilians and public officials. The leader of the group, Nemesio Oseguera Ramos, alias “El Mencho,” is Mexico’s most wanted criminal. The US Drug Enforcement Administration has offered a record $10 million bounty for information that leads to his arrest.

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