Monica Villamizar:
Heroin is usually called black goat, but these drugmakers aren't using poppy plants as their raw materials. Instead, they start with this synthetic powder, which is cooked over an open flame. The drug is called fentanyl.
And we're at the heart of the industry inside the Western Mexican state of Sinaloa. We have been given rare access to one of the Sinaloa cartel's fentanyl labs. It's quite ingenious, because they have set it up in the middle of those cows. And because there are so many police operations right now in the area, the cows provide a perfect cover.
Now, we have been advised to wear a respirator and goggles because fentanyl is very, very toxic. And many of these cooks have died just by inhaling it.
These cooks work without protective equipment. And they believe in a myth here that drinking beer will disable the high that comes along with being close to the heated substance.
This man, who we are calling Pedro, is one of the first links in a chain that sends fentanyl from Mexico to the United States. This package of fentanyl, which is sold as a competitor to heroin, weighs 11 pounds and sells for $15,000 in Sinaloa's capital, Culiacan.
The further the product travels, the more valuable it gets. By the time it arrives in America, 11 pounds could sell for $100,000. Fentanyl has proven to be a diabolical game-changer for the cartels. It's inexpensive. It can be mixed into drugs like cocaine, methamphetamine and other opiates.
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