 | Fentanyl has become a favorite of Mexican cartels because it is extremely potent, popular in the United States — and immensely profitable. Mexican cartels are using their own labs to produce the drug, as well as receiving shipments from China. A kilogram of heroin purchased from Colombia for roughly $6,000 can be sold wholesale for $80,000. But a kilogram of pure fentanyl, purchased from China for less than $5,000, can be stretched into 16 to 24 kilograms with cutting agents like talcum powder or caffeine. Each kilogram can then be sold wholesale for $80,000 — for a total profit in the neighborhood of $1.6 million. |