Federal agents seize 660,000 pounds of meth-producing chemicals in Houston, largest in U.S. history

Federal agents seized more than 660,000 pounds of precursor chemicals used to make meth, the largest seizure of its kind in U.S. history.

It happened at the Port of Houston this week after federal investigators intercepted a shipment from China to the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics tells News On 6, this historic seizure could potentially save hundreds, if not thousands, of lives in Oklahoma and across the U.S. OBN says meth is still the number one killer in Oklahoma, so this seizure is a win for everybody to keep drugs out of the United States.

Intercepted Shipment from China:

Homeland Security Investigation Agents and others confiscated six shipping containers this week at the Port of Houston that were filled with precursor chemicals to make methamphetamine. The shipment came from China, bound for secret labs under the control of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.

"98% of the drugs sourced into the United States are coming from the cartels in Mexico, but a lot of the drug precursor chemicals to manufacture drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamines are coming from places like China," said Mark Woodward with OBN.

$569 million worth of meth:

Federal investigators say there were 1,300 barrels of chemicals, which would be enough to make 13,200 pounds of meth. They say that it would be worth nearly $600 million.

"We will never know for sure but there's a likelihood that some of the methamphetamine produced from this tremendous historic seizure may have ended up on the streets of Oklahoma," said Woodward.

Meth remains a huge problem in Oklahoma:

Woodward says meth is still a huge problem in Oklahoma and cartels are shipping drugs into our state every day.

"It's not uncommon to see meth seizures by our agency involving anywhere from 50 to 250 pounds or higher. Those are the type of volumes moving into our state and we are seeing it killing hundreds of people here in Oklahoma every single year, so we know these types of seizures are absolutely having an impact and potentially saving a lot of lives of Oklahomans," said Woodward.

Sinaloa Cartel Designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization:

The Sinaloa Cartel was designated a foreign terrorist group earlier this year, so as soon as investigators learned about the shipment, they quickly got a warrant and seized it.

“This marks the first time a seizure warrant was issued for material support for terrorism,” said Acting Director Todd M Lyons of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “After seizing these two shipments, Homeland Security Investigations International worked closely with foreign law enforcement partners to consolidate the shipments in Panama and bring them here to the Port of Houston. I can’t thank all of our partners enough."