Mexico claims largest synthetic drug lab bust to date

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican army has seized more than a half million fentanyl pills in a raid on what it calls the largest synthetic drug lab found to date. The army said Wednesday the lab was discovered in Culiacan, the capital of the northern state of Sinaloa. Sinaloa is home to the drug cartel of the same name. Soldiers raided the lab Tuesday and found almost 630,000 pills that appear to contain the synthetic opioid fentanyl. They also seized 282 pounds (128 kilograms) of powdered fentanyl. Mexican drug cartels produce the opioid from precursor chemicals shipped from China and then press it into pills counterfeited to look like Xanax, Percocet or Oxycodone.