Mexico Cartels Hire Chemistry Students to Build Deadlier Fentanyl Doses | Firstpost America

Mexico Cartels Hire Chemistry Students to Build Deadlier Fentanyl Doses | Firstpost America

Mexican drug cartels are recruiting university chemistry students to expand their fentanyl operations, offering high salaries and even covering tuition to lure young talent. These students play key roles in cartel labs, strengthening the drug's potency and attempting to synthesise precursor chemicals—essential ingredients once imported from China. This shift, driven by stricter controls and supply chain disruptions, marks a dangerous escalation in the fentanyl crisis. Experts warn that industrialised production could lead to a deadlier flood of synthetic opioids into the United States. Our report uncovers how cartels are infiltrating campuses, exploiting chemists, and reshaping the drug trade, all while intensifying the overdose epidemic ravaging communities.