1 00:00:00,083 --> 00:00:01,335 (lighter clicks). 2 00:00:01,335 --> 00:00:03,170 (inhale). 3 00:00:04,338 --> 00:00:06,590 (bubbling). 4 00:00:08,008 --> 00:00:09,426 (lighter clicks). 5 00:00:09,426 --> 00:00:10,969 (heartbeat). 6 00:00:10,969 --> 00:00:13,013 REPORTER (over TV): Meth has made an alarming comeback. 7 00:00:13,013 --> 00:00:16,558 REPORTER (over TV): Cases involving meth have spiked over 1,000%. 8 00:00:16,558 --> 00:00:18,018 REPORTER (over TV): Holding meth is still a major problem. 9 00:00:18,018 --> 00:00:20,020 REPORTER (over TV): Meth is trending up. 10 00:00:20,020 --> 00:00:21,480 REPORTER (over TV): Especially prevalent in middle class neighborhoods. 11 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:23,190 REPORTER (over TV): More powerful. More plentiful. 12 00:00:23,190 --> 00:00:24,942 REPORTER (over TV): Easy to find and so cheap. 13 00:00:24,942 --> 00:00:27,110 MAN: If you want it, you can get it. 14 00:00:28,111 --> 00:00:31,156 MARIANA: It's being called a "new wave" of crystal meth. 15 00:00:35,994 --> 00:00:38,372 MARIANA: A generation after US government crackdown on 16 00:00:38,372 --> 00:00:41,833 labs and ingredients torpedoed the drug's supply. 17 00:00:41,833 --> 00:00:44,586 Meth is back with a vengeance. 18 00:00:45,587 --> 00:00:48,590 WOMAN: I basically learned how to be a high‐functioning addict. 19 00:00:48,590 --> 00:00:49,925 MAN: We call it Zombieland now, 20 00:00:49,925 --> 00:00:51,635 because everybody's zombied the (bleep) out. 21 00:00:51,635 --> 00:00:53,345 MARIANA: I want to know who's making it, 22 00:00:53,345 --> 00:00:56,014 how it's being trafficked, and why it's become such 23 00:00:56,014 --> 00:00:58,225 a hot commodity again. 24 00:00:58,225 --> 00:00:59,977 OFFICER: Police department! Search warrant. 25 00:01:00,852 --> 00:01:02,229 MARIANA: It's the military. 26 00:01:02,229 --> 00:01:03,730 They're covering their faces, which is never good. 27 00:01:03,730 --> 00:01:06,525 This is a journey to uncover the most prolific meth pipeline 28 00:01:06,525 --> 00:01:09,152 the world has ever seen. 29 00:01:09,152 --> 00:01:10,362 MIKE: The thing about this drug, 30 00:01:10,362 --> 00:01:12,823 she always wins in the end. 31 00:01:23,041 --> 00:01:27,379 ♪ ♪ 32 00:01:27,379 --> 00:01:29,631 VOICE: 14th floor. 33 00:01:32,968 --> 00:01:34,720 MARIANA: I think it's here. 34 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:38,432 I can hear somebody talking so. 35 00:01:40,058 --> 00:01:42,978 One of the reasons he picks this hotel is because there are no cameras. 36 00:01:42,978 --> 00:01:44,354 Hi. 37 00:01:44,354 --> 00:01:45,605 MIKE: Hi. 38 00:01:45,605 --> 00:01:46,732 MARIANA: Hi. I'm Mariana. How are you doing? 39 00:01:46,732 --> 00:01:48,859 MIKE: Fan (bleep) tastic. 40 00:01:55,574 --> 00:01:57,451 MARIANA: How many people are you expecting to come tonight? 41 00:01:57,451 --> 00:01:59,036 You have a phone full of messages? 42 00:01:59,036 --> 00:02:00,996 MIKE: Yes, tons of them. 43 00:02:00,996 --> 00:02:02,831 MARIANA: 50 messages? MIKE: Yeah. 44 00:02:04,624 --> 00:02:06,585 MARIANA: And everyone there, they're trying to buy drugs from you? 45 00:02:06,585 --> 00:02:08,545 MIKE: I dabble with a lot of different communities. 46 00:02:08,545 --> 00:02:11,048 The freaks come out at night. 47 00:02:11,548 --> 00:02:14,259 MARIANA: This is Mike, a meth dealer from Austin. 48 00:02:14,718 --> 00:02:17,638 He tells me he's been dealing meth for more than five years. 49 00:02:18,388 --> 00:02:20,849 He doesn't like his clients knowing where he lives. 50 00:02:20,849 --> 00:02:22,809 MIKE: Hi, girl. 51 00:02:22,809 --> 00:02:26,563 MARIANA: So he posts up at a hotel for what he refers to as a cattle call. 52 00:02:26,938 --> 00:02:28,065 So who's coming up now? 53 00:02:28,065 --> 00:02:29,691 MIKE: Mr. Pink. 54 00:02:29,691 --> 00:02:31,652 MARIANA: After some convincing, 55 00:02:31,652 --> 00:02:35,364 Mike allows us to watch as he conducts deals on a very busy Friday night. 56 00:02:39,826 --> 00:02:40,869 MIKE: You want some crystal meth? 57 00:02:40,869 --> 00:02:42,371 MR. PINK: Yes. MIKE: Okay. 58 00:02:42,371 --> 00:02:45,832 Come here. Sit on Santa's lap. 59 00:02:46,458 --> 00:02:47,751 Thank you. 60 00:02:52,964 --> 00:02:55,008 MARIANA: It seems like every deal is interrupted by 61 00:02:55,008 --> 00:02:57,427 another call from another customer. 62 00:02:57,761 --> 00:02:59,012 BUYER: Thank you. 63 00:02:59,012 --> 00:03:00,889 MARIANA: The last time meth was this popular, 64 00:03:00,889 --> 00:03:03,225 Mike was in elementary school. 65 00:03:05,769 --> 00:03:08,146 REPORTER (over TV): It's called crank, crystal or speed. 66 00:03:08,146 --> 00:03:09,481 REPORTER (over TV): Federal officials say 67 00:03:09,481 --> 00:03:12,109 more than 12 million Americans have tried it. 68 00:03:12,109 --> 00:03:13,360 MAN (over TV): And once you get that high, 69 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:15,028 you just want more, and more, and more. 70 00:03:15,028 --> 00:03:18,031 MARIANA: In the late '90s and early 2000s, 71 00:03:18,031 --> 00:03:21,201 a new type of drug epidemic began playing out on local 72 00:03:21,201 --> 00:03:23,620 news stations across the country. 73 00:03:23,620 --> 00:03:26,123 MAN (over TV): This is the result of a meth lab exploding. 74 00:03:26,123 --> 00:03:28,708 MARIANA: When they weren't killing themselves, 75 00:03:28,708 --> 00:03:32,295 amateur chemists were cooking meth from a toxic mix of 76 00:03:32,295 --> 00:03:35,841 household chemicals and over the counter cold medicine. 77 00:03:35,841 --> 00:03:38,927 It was a DIY phenomenon that produced one of the most 78 00:03:38,927 --> 00:03:41,596 addictive drugs ever seen. 79 00:03:41,596 --> 00:03:45,058 And one of the best TV series ever made. 80 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:47,477 JESSE: This is art, Mr. White. 81 00:03:47,477 --> 00:03:51,857 WALTER: Actually it's just basic chemistry but thank you, Jesse. 82 00:03:51,857 --> 00:03:53,817 I'm glad it is acceptable. 83 00:03:53,817 --> 00:03:57,737 MARIANA: It was an epidemic that was devastating rural white America. 84 00:03:59,406 --> 00:04:02,117 Perhaps the most lasting images from those days were 85 00:04:02,117 --> 00:04:05,537 put together by a sheriff's deputy in Oregon. 86 00:04:05,537 --> 00:04:09,374 A series of before and after mug shots of users that became 87 00:04:09,374 --> 00:04:12,711 known simply as "the faces of meth." 88 00:04:14,588 --> 00:04:17,674 But as I talk to some of Mike's clients in Austin, 89 00:04:17,674 --> 00:04:19,176 they surprise me. 90 00:04:19,176 --> 00:04:21,011 WOMAN: I try to keep us in my, like, 91 00:04:21,011 --> 00:04:22,763 together appearance. 92 00:04:22,763 --> 00:04:25,849 I don't look like somebody from the faces of meth. 93 00:04:27,184 --> 00:04:29,060 WOMAN: I am. 94 00:04:30,187 --> 00:04:33,273 MARIANA: Not in a million years would I think that you use meth. 95 00:04:33,273 --> 00:04:35,192 MAN: Well, I appreciate that, I think, because 96 00:04:35,192 --> 00:04:38,111 I think there is a certain stigma that we're all like 97 00:04:38,111 --> 00:04:41,990 toothless and eating people when we don't sleep for ten days. 98 00:04:41,990 --> 00:04:44,743 I have an education and I have a job. 99 00:04:44,743 --> 00:04:45,702 MARIANA: You're a lawyer. 100 00:04:45,702 --> 00:04:46,620 MAN: Yes. 101 00:04:46,620 --> 00:04:47,996 G: I sell cars actually. 102 00:04:47,996 --> 00:04:49,748 MARIANA: You are able to function and hold a job? 103 00:04:49,748 --> 00:04:51,750 SPEAKER X: Yes. Yes, for sure. 104 00:04:51,750 --> 00:04:55,921 WOMAN: I was an interior designer in a very affluent part of town. 105 00:04:55,921 --> 00:04:57,214 MARIANA: And you're able to work? 106 00:04:57,214 --> 00:04:58,381 WOMAN: Yeah. 107 00:04:58,381 --> 00:04:59,549 MARIANA: How often do you use meth? 108 00:05:01,259 --> 00:05:02,427 MARIANA: And why do you use it? 109 00:05:02,427 --> 00:05:04,304 SPEAKER X: It's a habit. It's just what I do. 110 00:05:04,304 --> 00:05:06,765 It's not what I wanna do, but it's just what I do. 111 00:05:12,646 --> 00:05:15,816 MARIANA: The demographics of meth users may have changed 112 00:05:15,816 --> 00:05:19,486 but the control the drug asserts over those users has not. 113 00:05:20,570 --> 00:05:23,073 It comes from the power of dopamine. 114 00:05:23,073 --> 00:05:27,327 Meth unleashes a concentrated high to the pleasure sensors of the brain. 115 00:05:28,203 --> 00:05:32,249 And explains why it's so easy for users of any background to 116 00:05:32,249 --> 00:05:34,918 become addicted. 117 00:05:35,710 --> 00:05:36,753 How do you do it? 118 00:05:36,753 --> 00:05:38,171 G: I inject it. Yeah. 119 00:05:38,171 --> 00:05:39,548 MARIANA: Is that a more dangerous way of doing it or 120 00:05:39,548 --> 00:05:40,590 more powerful at least? 121 00:05:40,590 --> 00:05:42,592 G: It's more addictive I would say. 122 00:05:42,592 --> 00:05:43,969 WOMAN: It's not even a decision. 123 00:05:43,969 --> 00:05:47,055 It's like a loop you just can't get off of. 124 00:05:47,514 --> 00:05:49,224 You just reach for it. 125 00:05:49,224 --> 00:05:52,310 I basically learned how to be a high‐functioning addict. 126 00:05:53,061 --> 00:05:55,021 MARIANA: Mike is an addict too. 127 00:05:55,021 --> 00:05:58,316 When he's not dealing, he's often using. 128 00:05:58,316 --> 00:06:01,778 His relationship with meth has been a rollercoaster. 129 00:06:02,571 --> 00:06:05,031 MIKE: I had three houses, two cars and lost it all. 130 00:06:05,031 --> 00:06:06,992 Homeless in the streets for four years. 131 00:06:06,992 --> 00:06:08,201 MARIANA: Have you done time in prison? 132 00:06:08,201 --> 00:06:09,828 MIKE: I have three felonies. 133 00:06:09,828 --> 00:06:11,663 MARIANA: For drugs? MIKE: Possession. 134 00:06:11,663 --> 00:06:14,124 If I catch another one, I'm gone. 135 00:06:14,124 --> 00:06:16,084 It's a life sentence. 136 00:06:16,084 --> 00:06:18,211 I made a promise to my mother that I will be here to take 137 00:06:18,211 --> 00:06:20,630 care of her, and I'm gonna keep that. 138 00:06:24,676 --> 00:06:28,638 MARIANA: Mike and his clients are some of the new faces of meth. 139 00:06:29,055 --> 00:06:31,182 MIKE: Go hit it. 140 00:06:31,182 --> 00:06:33,351 MARIANA: I want to understand why meth is making such a 141 00:06:33,351 --> 00:06:36,521 comeback and where it's all coming from. 142 00:06:42,193 --> 00:06:43,486 DEA COP: All right. Bring it in, guys. 143 00:06:43,486 --> 00:06:44,738 Pull your phones. 144 00:06:44,738 --> 00:06:47,157 So DEA SRT has executed a state search warrant. 145 00:06:47,157 --> 00:06:49,701 Subject 1, extremely lengthy rap sheet. 146 00:06:49,701 --> 00:06:51,119 He's our primary target. 147 00:06:51,119 --> 00:06:54,456 Secondary target has violence in his rap sheet also. 148 00:06:54,456 --> 00:06:58,126 MARIANA: I'm with the special response team of the San Diego DEA 149 00:06:58,126 --> 00:07:00,795 as they're preparing for an early morning raid. 150 00:07:00,795 --> 00:07:04,382 DEA COP: Any questions? Questions? All right. 151 00:07:04,382 --> 00:07:06,217 Get up. 152 00:07:06,217 --> 00:07:09,179 MARIANA: Launched in 2020, Operation Crystal Shield 153 00:07:09,179 --> 00:07:10,930 targets folks like Mike, 154 00:07:10,930 --> 00:07:14,476 traffickers and dealers across the country. 155 00:07:15,769 --> 00:07:18,563 At the peak of the last meth craze in 2006, 156 00:07:18,563 --> 00:07:22,275 the US finally put stringent limits on the sales of cold 157 00:07:22,275 --> 00:07:24,444 medications containing ephedrine, 158 00:07:24,444 --> 00:07:26,821 the key ingredient in production. 159 00:07:26,821 --> 00:07:28,657 The supply chain quickly dried up. 160 00:07:28,657 --> 00:07:30,367 And meth use plummeted. 161 00:07:30,367 --> 00:07:32,744 But the dip was short‐lived. 162 00:07:32,744 --> 00:07:35,622 COP (over radio): DEA SRT just made the northbound turn on Paramount. 163 00:07:35,622 --> 00:07:38,249 MARIANA: Do you still get nervous or is this... 164 00:07:38,249 --> 00:07:40,001 DEA COP: Um, it's good to be a little nervous. 165 00:07:40,001 --> 00:07:42,837 Because if you're not, then you're not safe. 166 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:46,591 MARIANA: Tonight in San Diego, the DEA is targeting the house 167 00:07:46,591 --> 00:07:49,803 of a suspected meth dealer with prior felonies. 168 00:07:50,345 --> 00:07:52,180 DEA COP: This is it. 169 00:07:58,978 --> 00:08:01,147 COP (over bullhorn): (bleep) Police department. 170 00:08:01,147 --> 00:08:02,107 Search warrant. 171 00:08:02,107 --> 00:08:04,275 42777. 172 00:08:04,275 --> 00:08:06,111 Police department with a search warrant. 173 00:08:06,111 --> 00:08:08,988 Demanding entry pronto 174 00:08:08,988 --> 00:08:11,491 Police department coming in the front door. 175 00:08:11,491 --> 00:08:13,410 Police department. Search warrant. 176 00:08:13,410 --> 00:08:14,786 Demanding entry. 177 00:08:14,786 --> 00:08:16,830 MARIANA: The information they have is that there is 178 00:08:16,830 --> 00:08:18,998 large quantities of drugs including meth. 179 00:08:18,998 --> 00:08:22,877 Also possibly guns and we'll see what they can find out. 180 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:25,213 COP (over bullhorn): Police department! Search warrant. 181 00:08:25,213 --> 00:08:27,215 Follow the command. 182 00:08:28,007 --> 00:08:30,051 MARIANA: So it's three total, right? 183 00:08:30,051 --> 00:08:31,845 DEA COP: There's three total out and there is at least one more on the inside. 184 00:08:31,845 --> 00:08:32,929 MARIANA: Inside. 185 00:08:32,929 --> 00:08:35,056 DEA COP: Maybe more. 186 00:08:37,183 --> 00:08:40,645 MARIANA: A few hours later, they're ready to show me what they found. 187 00:08:40,645 --> 00:08:42,522 So this is crystal? 188 00:08:42,522 --> 00:08:44,024 DEA COP: Crystal, right. 189 00:08:44,024 --> 00:08:45,650 That's a nice big shard right there. 190 00:08:45,650 --> 00:08:47,318 MARIANA: It is. 191 00:08:47,318 --> 00:08:48,737 Are you guys finding a difference in the quality of the meth? 192 00:08:48,737 --> 00:08:49,904 Is it more powerful now? 193 00:08:49,904 --> 00:08:51,322 DEA AGENT: It is. 194 00:08:51,322 --> 00:08:53,450 Most of the meth that we seized has over 90% purity. 195 00:08:53,450 --> 00:08:55,326 MARIANA: Wow. 196 00:08:55,326 --> 00:08:56,911 DEA AGENT: Which is a lot different than what it was 15, 20 years ago. 197 00:08:56,911 --> 00:08:58,747 MARIANA: And if you were to guess where this is coming 198 00:08:58,747 --> 00:09:00,582 from, where did bag come from? 199 00:09:00,582 --> 00:09:02,292 DEA COP: Oh, uh, from Mexico. 200 00:09:02,292 --> 00:09:03,752 Absolutely. And it's just right here. 201 00:09:03,752 --> 00:09:07,922 DEA AGENT: Last year, over 50,000 kilos of meth was seized 202 00:09:07,922 --> 00:09:10,341 in California on the southwest border. 203 00:09:10,341 --> 00:09:13,178 It's increasing every year. 204 00:09:20,018 --> 00:09:21,686 MARIANA: I've never worked with this guy before and he 205 00:09:21,686 --> 00:09:24,397 just wants to make sure that we are in fact journalists. 206 00:09:24,689 --> 00:09:27,692 To understand the origins of this wave of Mexican meth, 207 00:09:27,692 --> 00:09:30,487 I need to go meet its new suppliers. 208 00:09:32,405 --> 00:09:33,573 What's up? 209 00:09:38,953 --> 00:09:41,289 MARIANA: Okay. Okay. You guys stay in the car. 210 00:09:44,918 --> 00:09:47,587 I've reported from Sinaloa many times before. 211 00:09:47,587 --> 00:09:50,298 Hola! Estoy bien, como estas? Soy Mariana. 212 00:09:50,298 --> 00:09:51,549 I know this drill well. 213 00:10:00,934 --> 00:10:03,103 MARIANA: No one introduces themselves as cartel members, 214 00:10:03,103 --> 00:10:05,855 but I know exactly who I'm dealing with. 215 00:10:07,398 --> 00:10:09,609 The Sinaloa cartel runs the most ruthless 216 00:10:09,609 --> 00:10:12,320 narco‐trafficking operation on the planet. 217 00:10:12,695 --> 00:10:16,199 They'll do just about anything to defend their smuggling routes. 218 00:10:18,576 --> 00:10:21,663 Their violent reputation hides another truth. 219 00:10:21,663 --> 00:10:24,624 The cartel knows how to spot a business opportunity. 220 00:10:25,834 --> 00:10:29,170 US authorities may have torpedoed the domestic supply of meth, 221 00:10:29,170 --> 00:10:32,048 during its last heyday in the 2000s. 222 00:10:32,048 --> 00:10:34,467 But they did little to stem the demand. 223 00:10:35,135 --> 00:10:39,139 That opened the door for organizations like the Sinaloa cartel. 224 00:10:40,765 --> 00:10:42,308 I don't know if you went to the right or left. 225 00:10:42,308 --> 00:10:44,060 MIGUEL (over radio): Right. 226 00:10:44,060 --> 00:10:45,520 MARIANA: Got it. So we're entering cartel territory here, right? 227 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:47,355 MIGUEL (over radio): Yes. 228 00:10:49,399 --> 00:10:51,317 MARIANA: So we're following this guy who we've been told 229 00:10:51,317 --> 00:10:53,027 he's a lieutenant for the cartel, 230 00:10:53,027 --> 00:10:55,947 sort of a boss in the cartel. 231 00:11:00,118 --> 00:11:03,413 He's taking us to, what they call a super meth lab around here. 232 00:11:04,038 --> 00:11:06,457 We're trying to keep up with him because he's in, in a hurry. 233 00:11:06,457 --> 00:11:08,626 He says we have to get there fast. 234 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:11,462 If we get there. 235 00:11:16,801 --> 00:11:19,971 This is it, guys. We're here. 236 00:11:20,430 --> 00:11:23,558 There's just a bunch of masked men waiting for us. 237 00:11:33,985 --> 00:11:37,030 MARIANA: This is it, guys. We're here. 238 00:11:37,030 --> 00:11:40,950 After driving two hours deeper into the Sierra Madre mountains, 239 00:11:40,950 --> 00:11:43,494 we arrive at a very remote location. 240 00:12:04,557 --> 00:12:06,184 MARIANA: Okay. We can go guys. 241 00:12:06,184 --> 00:12:08,061 Okay. Gracias. 242 00:12:08,603 --> 00:12:10,521 Their walkie‐talkies are really loud. 243 00:12:18,321 --> 00:12:19,864 MARIANA: Yeah. 244 00:12:19,864 --> 00:12:21,199 So they knew essentially since we entered the Sierra Madre, 245 00:12:21,199 --> 00:12:23,159 this area here, that we were here, 246 00:12:23,159 --> 00:12:25,620 that without permission there's no way we would've even gotten this close. 247 00:12:39,384 --> 00:12:40,718 MARIANA: Oh, wow, so you see these pipes? 248 00:12:40,718 --> 00:12:43,513 This is water pipes they say for the lab. 249 00:12:43,513 --> 00:12:46,557 Can you see how they are trying to hide them with grass here? 250 00:12:53,481 --> 00:12:55,066 Oh, my God. 251 00:12:55,066 --> 00:12:57,902 This is it. Wow. 252 00:12:58,403 --> 00:13:01,489 This is much bigger than I thought it was gonna be. 253 00:13:02,323 --> 00:13:04,993 After a long hike, we arrive at a massive meth production 254 00:13:04,993 --> 00:13:08,913 site, what the Sinaloa cartel calls a super lab. 255 00:13:12,458 --> 00:13:16,546 MARIANA: Hola. 256 00:13:24,095 --> 00:13:24,929 MARIANA: Lead. 257 00:13:31,769 --> 00:13:33,313 MARIANA: Galleta, which is what they call cookie, 258 00:13:33,313 --> 00:13:34,605 is a mix of other chemicals. 259 00:13:34,605 --> 00:13:35,982 (speaking Spanish). 260 00:13:35,982 --> 00:13:38,276 MARIANA: Cyanide, lime, alcohol. 261 00:13:38,276 --> 00:13:40,778 And then they put the fire on, it starts heating. 262 00:13:45,742 --> 00:13:47,243 The smell is so strong. 263 00:13:51,914 --> 00:13:53,458 MARIANA: Make no mistake about it, 264 00:13:53,458 --> 00:13:56,836 the booming popularity of meth in the US goes hand‐in‐hand 265 00:13:56,836 --> 00:13:59,255 with the boom in production here. 266 00:13:59,756 --> 00:14:03,009 Labs like this are cooking meth on an industrial scale. 267 00:14:05,178 --> 00:14:07,263 A generation ago, American‐made meth 268 00:14:07,263 --> 00:14:10,224 was only about 60% pure. 269 00:14:10,224 --> 00:14:13,936 The cartels have increased the purity to above 90%. 270 00:14:14,479 --> 00:14:15,855 It's just showing you the accuracy. 271 00:14:15,855 --> 00:14:17,398 This is what, the level that they want. 272 00:14:17,398 --> 00:14:19,650 And it's spot‐on. 273 00:14:20,276 --> 00:14:24,447 And yet cooking the drug is still as crude and dangerous as ever. 274 00:14:26,991 --> 00:14:29,410 So you can see just how rudimentary this all is. 275 00:14:29,410 --> 00:14:30,953 The fire coming underneath here, 276 00:14:30,953 --> 00:14:33,539 there's a really strong smell of gas. 277 00:14:33,539 --> 00:14:37,376 There's a thing going round and round and this is all made by hand and 278 00:14:37,376 --> 00:14:41,839 you just have the feeling that this can go wrong really fast. 279 00:14:59,857 --> 00:15:01,234 HOMBRE: No. MARIANA: Wow. 280 00:15:04,070 --> 00:15:06,239 MARIANA: Okay. 281 00:15:06,239 --> 00:15:08,407 So instead of having to buy and wait for the precursor chemicals to come from China, 282 00:15:08,407 --> 00:15:10,785 they're actually making it all right here. 283 00:15:11,410 --> 00:15:12,954 It's finally happening. 284 00:15:12,954 --> 00:15:16,165 The cartels' drug producers are becoming self‐reliant. 285 00:15:17,500 --> 00:15:20,294 Only two years ago, I was off the coast of Mazatlan watching 286 00:15:20,294 --> 00:15:24,549 cartel members fish barrels of Chinese‐made chemicals out of the water. 287 00:15:25,007 --> 00:15:28,594 Now, they are free of Asian suppliers and shipping 288 00:15:28,594 --> 00:15:31,722 timelines and making the chemicals themselves. 289 00:15:32,390 --> 00:15:35,726 That means more meth at a faster rate. 290 00:15:37,061 --> 00:15:40,231 So this is the final step in the whole process. 291 00:15:40,231 --> 00:15:44,527 So this is the crystal that forms crystal meth. 292 00:15:44,986 --> 00:15:47,446 So they're, it's starting to boil and the crystal is 293 00:15:47,446 --> 00:15:49,198 starting to form at the top. 294 00:16:41,959 --> 00:16:43,836 MARIANA: I want to understand how meth produced in the 295 00:16:43,836 --> 00:16:47,340 super lab makes it to America, so I reach out to my cartel 296 00:16:47,340 --> 00:16:51,093 contact to see the next link in the supply chain. 297 00:16:54,722 --> 00:16:56,224 It's the military. 298 00:16:56,224 --> 00:16:57,683 But on the way out of the area, 299 00:16:57,683 --> 00:16:59,685 our cars are surrounded. 300 00:17:03,397 --> 00:17:06,108 There's another one coming. 301 00:17:08,945 --> 00:17:11,239 They're covering their faces, which is never good. 302 00:17:23,125 --> 00:17:25,461 MARIANA: I'm in Sinaloa tracking the supply chain of 303 00:17:25,461 --> 00:17:28,089 America's latest drug wave. 304 00:17:28,673 --> 00:17:30,216 We just left a crew of well‐armed, 305 00:17:30,216 --> 00:17:33,469 masked men cooking insane amounts of crystal meth. 306 00:17:34,345 --> 00:17:36,847 When our cars are surrounded by a different crew of 307 00:17:36,847 --> 00:17:39,016 well‐armed, masked men. 308 00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:41,060 It's the military. 309 00:17:41,060 --> 00:17:43,854 The Mexican military. 310 00:17:46,607 --> 00:17:48,943 There's another one coming. 311 00:17:52,071 --> 00:17:54,907 They're covering their faces, which is never good. 312 00:17:55,616 --> 00:17:58,202 They blocked us behind us and in front of us, trucks. 313 00:17:58,786 --> 00:18:01,622 We just never know what exactly their goal is, 314 00:18:01,622 --> 00:18:03,749 why all this intimidation. 315 00:18:14,135 --> 00:18:15,928 MARIANA: As the military swarms us, 316 00:18:15,928 --> 00:18:18,055 they refuse to give us a specific reason as to 317 00:18:18,055 --> 00:18:20,558 why we're being detained. 318 00:18:20,558 --> 00:18:22,059 They're saying they want us out of the car, 319 00:18:22,059 --> 00:18:24,854 they wanna take photos of us and do an investigation. 320 00:18:41,746 --> 00:18:44,040 MARIANA: They wanna check the car, guys. 321 00:18:45,499 --> 00:18:48,127 We were essentially surrounded by military. 322 00:18:48,127 --> 00:18:49,879 They're searching our cars right now. 323 00:18:49,879 --> 00:18:51,756 Definitely not a pleasant experience because they're 324 00:18:51,756 --> 00:18:54,216 coming up at us with guns and they're asking us all sorts of questions, 325 00:18:54,216 --> 00:18:56,344 asking why we are there, what we're filming. 326 00:19:01,849 --> 00:19:03,059 MARIANA: Ah, okay, so they're telling us not to film, 327 00:19:03,059 --> 00:19:05,269 we have to put cameras down, guys. 328 00:19:05,269 --> 00:19:08,022 As they search our vehicles, a senior officer demands that 329 00:19:08,022 --> 00:19:10,691 our local producer explain where we've been and 330 00:19:10,691 --> 00:19:12,360 where we're going. 331 00:19:19,825 --> 00:19:23,204 MARIANA: Ultimately, they find no reason to keep us and they let us go. 332 00:19:24,538 --> 00:19:28,709 I mean, that was not a good situation to be in. 333 00:19:32,088 --> 00:19:34,256 That is a lot of armed men. 334 00:19:34,715 --> 00:19:37,385 But, you know, corruption is rife in Mexico. 335 00:19:37,635 --> 00:19:39,387 So you never know who exactly they're working for, 336 00:19:39,387 --> 00:19:41,430 if it's the government or the cartel themselves. 337 00:19:42,598 --> 00:19:45,518 In Mexico, it's hard to know where allegiances lie. 338 00:19:45,851 --> 00:19:48,187 The billions of dollars cartels make running drugs to 339 00:19:48,187 --> 00:19:51,315 the US have perverted the rule of law, 340 00:19:51,315 --> 00:19:54,610 corrupting government and law enforcement at nearly every level. 341 00:19:55,820 --> 00:19:57,780 We were allowed to continue our journey north, 342 00:19:57,780 --> 00:20:00,908 but it was a good reminder to never let our guard down. 343 00:20:02,660 --> 00:20:04,578 Okay. So we're still in narco territory. 344 00:20:04,578 --> 00:20:07,873 And we're heading to a stash house where they say that they 345 00:20:07,873 --> 00:20:11,252 have crystal meth that has been packed up or they're 346 00:20:11,252 --> 00:20:12,837 packing it up right now. 347 00:20:12,837 --> 00:20:15,840 I'm unsure but that's going to be shipped to the US tomorrow. 348 00:20:16,632 --> 00:20:18,300 The problem is it's getting night here, 349 00:20:18,300 --> 00:20:21,721 which is never when you want to be in this part of the world. 350 00:20:24,557 --> 00:20:26,600 MIGUEL (over radio): It's here to the left. 351 00:20:26,851 --> 00:20:28,436 MARIANA: Here it is. We're here. 352 00:20:31,731 --> 00:20:32,732 (speaking Spanish). 353 00:20:36,318 --> 00:20:37,153 MARIANA: Ah, okay. 354 00:20:40,156 --> 00:20:41,240 (speaking Spanish). 355 00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:43,617 MARIANA: Oh, my God. 356 00:20:43,617 --> 00:20:45,995 Holy (bleep) I cannot believe it. 357 00:20:45,995 --> 00:20:47,329 Wow. 358 00:20:47,329 --> 00:20:48,622 So all this is crystal meth that came from the lab. 359 00:21:19,945 --> 00:21:21,322 MARIANA: He's showing, okay. 360 00:21:21,322 --> 00:21:22,698 So imagine this is fertilizer, these are the drugs. 361 00:21:22,698 --> 00:21:25,159 They just cover it all with real fertilizer. 362 00:21:25,159 --> 00:21:26,410 So if you're searching the car, 363 00:21:26,410 --> 00:21:29,079 you're not gonna search each individual piece. 364 00:21:29,497 --> 00:21:32,166 So they have these four bags and they have more bags inside. 365 00:21:32,166 --> 00:21:33,292 (speaking Spanish). 366 00:21:33,292 --> 00:21:34,752 MARIANA: "Come and see this," he's saying. 367 00:21:37,505 --> 00:21:38,756 MARIANA: So it's hidden in the bathroom I guess. 368 00:21:38,756 --> 00:21:40,841 Here it is one, two, three, four more. 369 00:21:52,853 --> 00:21:54,814 MARIANA: And they just throw it in the truck like this, he's saying. 370 00:21:54,814 --> 00:21:58,025 Just easily, you don't even have to try to hide it very much. 371 00:22:13,415 --> 00:22:15,876 MARIANA: Half a ton of drugs. 372 00:22:15,876 --> 00:22:18,337 Let's just do the math on that. 373 00:22:18,337 --> 00:22:22,633 My sources tell me that one pound of meth in Mexico goes for $200. 374 00:22:23,425 --> 00:22:27,304 But that price jumps to $650 once it crosses the border. 375 00:22:27,930 --> 00:22:32,518 And up to 1,500 per pound once it reaches a big city like Los Angeles. 376 00:22:33,143 --> 00:22:35,771 So if they're moving half a metric ton to LA 377 00:22:35,771 --> 00:22:38,524 every week, roughly 1,100 pounds, 378 00:22:38,524 --> 00:22:41,610 They're making more than $1.4 million 379 00:22:41,610 --> 00:22:44,113 in profit every shipment. 380 00:22:44,113 --> 00:22:48,075 I don't think I've ever seen just the enormous amount of 381 00:22:48,075 --> 00:22:49,702 drugs that were there tonight. 382 00:22:49,702 --> 00:22:51,745 And they don't even try to hide it. 383 00:22:51,745 --> 00:22:55,583 Handing over the drugs to us and we're all talking openly about it. 384 00:22:55,583 --> 00:22:59,753 And then to find out that half a ton of meth is 385 00:22:59,753 --> 00:23:03,382 shipped out of here, that is insane. 386 00:23:04,842 --> 00:23:07,469 America's latest wave of crystal meth is big business 387 00:23:07,469 --> 00:23:09,638 in cartel land. 388 00:23:09,638 --> 00:23:12,391 Still, I want to understand how the Sinaloa cartel is 389 00:23:12,391 --> 00:23:17,354 moving so much ice across the highly‐secured US border each week, 390 00:23:17,354 --> 00:23:22,318 and how American dealers like Mike get their hands on that supply. 391 00:23:31,410 --> 00:23:34,997 ♪ ♪ 392 00:23:34,997 --> 00:23:37,082 MARIANA: Hey, any news? 393 00:23:37,082 --> 00:23:38,459 ROGER (over phone): We got information that we're gonna be meeting a biker, 394 00:23:38,459 --> 00:23:41,003 he's smuggling drugs across the border. 395 00:23:41,003 --> 00:23:43,672 He's crossing now so we got to hurry up. 396 00:23:43,672 --> 00:23:45,132 MARIANA: Okay. Any other rules? 397 00:23:45,132 --> 00:23:47,176 Anything we need to know about beforehand? 398 00:23:47,176 --> 00:23:49,637 ROGER (over phone): Well, they're gonna tell us where they want to meet. 399 00:23:49,637 --> 00:23:52,056 It is for their security and for ours. 400 00:23:52,056 --> 00:23:53,140 MARIANA: Okay, bye. 401 00:23:53,140 --> 00:23:55,392 So it looks like it's on. 402 00:23:56,894 --> 00:23:59,313 I'm in the border town of Calexico to see how 403 00:23:59,313 --> 00:24:04,193 Mexican cartels smuggle meth into the biggest illegal drug market in the world, 404 00:24:04,193 --> 00:24:06,695 the United States of America. 405 00:24:07,404 --> 00:24:09,490 We're here. 406 00:24:11,533 --> 00:24:12,660 MARIANA: Okay. 407 00:24:12,660 --> 00:24:14,745 There's not much to it, we just wait now. 408 00:24:20,209 --> 00:24:23,379 MIGUEL (over phone): Hey, Mariana, the biker should arrive to your 409 00:24:23,379 --> 00:24:25,214 spot any minute now. 410 00:24:25,214 --> 00:24:27,091 MARIANA: Okay. So he's coming right to our car? 411 00:24:27,091 --> 00:24:29,051 MIGUEL (over phone): Yes. 412 00:24:38,644 --> 00:24:41,313 MARIANA: The trafficker tells me to call him Ricardo. 413 00:24:41,313 --> 00:24:43,524 He's an American citizen from East LA. 414 00:24:47,069 --> 00:24:48,362 MARIANA: Crystal meth. 415 00:24:56,161 --> 00:24:57,830 MARIANA: That's crystal meth? Ice? 416 00:24:57,830 --> 00:25:00,916 The drugs are wrapped with duct tape and plastic. 417 00:25:01,333 --> 00:25:03,460 They're called huevos or eggs, 418 00:25:03,460 --> 00:25:06,255 and each one is packed tightly with crystal meth. 419 00:25:11,135 --> 00:25:12,678 MARIANA: Two pounds. 420 00:25:12,678 --> 00:25:16,098 Turns out there are 12 huevos hidden throughout the bike. 421 00:25:16,098 --> 00:25:22,062 Totaling 24 pounds of meth, a street value of $36,000 in Los Angeles. 422 00:25:41,123 --> 00:25:43,500 MARIANA: Ricardo is one of thousands in a decentralized 423 00:25:43,500 --> 00:25:47,171 network of freelance smugglers utilized by the cartel. 424 00:25:47,921 --> 00:25:52,468 It's an army of ants who avoid seizures by funneling smaller 425 00:25:52,468 --> 00:25:55,971 packages of meth in cars and motorcycles, 426 00:25:55,971 --> 00:25:59,892 maximizing efficiency and minimizing risk with drivers 427 00:25:59,892 --> 00:26:03,479 who have less direct ties to the cartels themselves. 428 00:26:09,234 --> 00:26:11,236 MARIANA: Just like that, we are interrupted by Ricardo's 429 00:26:11,236 --> 00:26:14,490 boss who needs him to proceed with his route. 430 00:26:14,490 --> 00:26:15,616 His boss is calling. 431 00:26:17,951 --> 00:26:20,204 MARIANA: Okay. He really has to go. 432 00:26:23,457 --> 00:26:25,793 MARIANA: This meth pipeline is part of a drug trafficking 433 00:26:25,793 --> 00:26:30,380 empire that brings in an estimated $30 billion in 434 00:26:30,380 --> 00:26:32,049 revenue a year. 435 00:26:32,049 --> 00:26:36,178 That's more than Fortune 500 companies like Visa or Starbucks. 436 00:26:36,845 --> 00:26:40,474 And like any good business, the cartels are never satisfied. 437 00:26:41,642 --> 00:26:44,353 That's how I find myself parked on an LA street 438 00:26:44,353 --> 00:26:47,606 awaiting a sketchy meet‐up with a cartel operative 439 00:26:47,606 --> 00:26:49,983 working on a new initiative. 440 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:51,568 Hey guys, can you hear me? 441 00:26:51,568 --> 00:26:52,945 ROGER (over radio): Loud and clear. 442 00:26:52,945 --> 00:26:54,446 MARIANA: Are these the people we've met before? 443 00:27:00,202 --> 00:27:01,954 MARIANA: Do you trust these people? 444 00:27:16,510 --> 00:27:20,180 MARIANA: Oh. That's, they actually said that? 445 00:27:27,813 --> 00:27:30,774 MARIANA: Okay. So no, absolutely no filming on the way to the location, 446 00:27:30,774 --> 00:27:32,359 wherever that location is. 447 00:27:34,903 --> 00:27:37,364 MARIANA: Okay. You guys heard that? 448 00:27:43,537 --> 00:27:45,747 Okay. I think this is it. 449 00:27:45,747 --> 00:27:48,584 So we're parking about two blocks from the actual location. 450 00:27:48,917 --> 00:27:51,044 And they've asked us to park away. 451 00:27:51,044 --> 00:27:53,881 And also, they told us to bring all the gas masks 452 00:27:53,881 --> 00:27:55,883 because apparently it's super toxic. 453 00:27:56,633 --> 00:27:59,052 Okay? Let's do this. 454 00:28:07,060 --> 00:28:08,645 MARIANA: Raking in billions a year, 455 00:28:08,645 --> 00:28:11,690 the cartels have seen their meth profits soar thanks to 456 00:28:11,690 --> 00:28:15,110 their endless pursuit of cheaper and quicker ways to 457 00:28:15,110 --> 00:28:17,029 reach American users. 458 00:28:18,071 --> 00:28:22,492 I walk a few blocks to meet a new cartel contact who calls himself Pablo. 459 00:28:22,492 --> 00:28:23,452 Hey. 460 00:28:23,452 --> 00:28:24,870 PABLO: Hello. 461 00:28:24,870 --> 00:28:26,747 MARIANA: And I honestly have no idea what to expect. 462 00:28:26,747 --> 00:28:28,790 PABLO: Please put your mask on. 463 00:28:29,458 --> 00:28:31,543 I did already and the smell of chemical is really bad and 464 00:28:31,543 --> 00:28:33,128 it's really strong. 465 00:28:33,128 --> 00:28:34,922 All the chemicals that we're using are very, very dangerous. 466 00:28:34,922 --> 00:28:35,923 You gotta be careful what you touch? 467 00:28:39,134 --> 00:28:40,636 PABLO: Yes, I was cooking. 468 00:28:40,636 --> 00:28:42,095 I have something here, but I don't wanna touch it 'cause 469 00:28:42,095 --> 00:28:43,305 it's still cooking. 470 00:28:43,305 --> 00:28:44,723 This is what you call a "Shake and Bake." 471 00:28:44,723 --> 00:28:47,476 'Cause in case, "Police is coming," shake it. 472 00:28:47,476 --> 00:28:48,644 We gone, do another one. 473 00:29:03,867 --> 00:29:05,702 PABLO: I go directly to my boss in Sinaloa cartel. 474 00:29:07,287 --> 00:29:08,789 PABLO: He gives me the orders. 475 00:29:08,789 --> 00:29:10,332 That's why you guys got the okay and the access to come here. 476 00:29:10,832 --> 00:29:12,209 MARIANA: That's right. 477 00:29:12,209 --> 00:29:14,544 According to Pablo, the same Shake and Bake labs, 478 00:29:14,544 --> 00:29:18,298 that once dotted the American landscape are making a comeback. 479 00:29:18,882 --> 00:29:22,886 But this time they are funded and run by Mexican cartels. 480 00:29:29,601 --> 00:29:31,603 PABLO: We got the gas, we got the battery acid. 481 00:29:33,438 --> 00:29:36,942 PABLO: We have the liquid Sudafed because we crush up the pills 482 00:29:36,942 --> 00:29:39,236 MARIANA: Pablo tells me that while getting Sudafed is hard, 483 00:29:39,236 --> 00:29:42,030 the cartel has channels to source ingredients from 484 00:29:42,030 --> 00:29:43,740 pharmaceutical companies. 485 00:29:47,202 --> 00:29:49,121 PABLO: Let's say that they were doing 60 pills. 486 00:29:49,121 --> 00:29:50,664 MARIANA: Uh‐hmm. 487 00:29:50,664 --> 00:29:52,249 PABLO: So I'm using 500 pills, the more pills we crush up, 488 00:29:52,249 --> 00:29:53,667 the more stronger it is. 489 00:29:57,170 --> 00:29:58,046 PABLO: Yes, they are. 490 00:30:02,009 --> 00:30:03,510 PABLO: Exactly. 491 00:30:03,510 --> 00:30:05,262 MARIANA: Pablo explains that the cartel is experimenting 492 00:30:05,262 --> 00:30:09,933 with this direct to consumer model which lowers production costs, 493 00:30:09,933 --> 00:30:12,978 eliminates the risk and cost of transport, 494 00:30:12,978 --> 00:30:15,105 and cuts out mules and middlemen. 495 00:30:18,608 --> 00:30:19,693 PABLO: We're in the middle of the city 496 00:30:21,737 --> 00:30:24,197 PABLO: We have five that are getting built right now as we speak. 497 00:30:25,323 --> 00:30:27,242 PABLO: And around the corner, they already have at least eight. 498 00:30:28,827 --> 00:30:30,162 PABLO: Yes. 499 00:30:30,495 --> 00:30:32,330 MARIANA: Profits are already soaring. 500 00:30:32,330 --> 00:30:34,958 Just from the network of labs run by Pablo in LA, 501 00:30:34,958 --> 00:30:38,920 he tells me he's making $12 million every year for his 502 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:41,006 bosses in Sinaloa. 503 00:30:41,423 --> 00:30:42,758 PABLO: We call it Zombieland now, 504 00:30:42,758 --> 00:30:44,301 because everybody's zombied the (bleep) out now, 505 00:30:44,301 --> 00:30:45,719 they're using crystal meth. 506 00:30:49,431 --> 00:30:52,851 PABLO: Yes, it does bother me, but like I gotta live one way or another. 507 00:30:53,143 --> 00:30:55,979 I grew up in this (bleep) I come from Sinaloa, 508 00:30:55,979 --> 00:30:59,149 this is all I know and, you know, this is hard. 509 00:31:00,692 --> 00:31:03,403 MARIANA: As the cartels' producers in Mexico and within 510 00:31:03,403 --> 00:31:07,199 the US pump out more and purer crystal meth, 511 00:31:07,199 --> 00:31:10,327 their strategy to hook more users is working. 512 00:31:10,619 --> 00:31:14,706 REPORTER (over TV): 328 people died by overdosing on drugs her in Arizona last year. 513 00:31:14,706 --> 00:31:17,167 REPORTER (over TV): Methamphetamine is back on the rise in Ohio. 514 00:31:17,167 --> 00:31:19,086 REPORTER (over TV): More people are now dying from meth overdoses 515 00:31:19,086 --> 00:31:20,796 than heroin across Colorado. 516 00:31:20,796 --> 00:31:22,839 REPORTER (over TV): Right here on the streets of San Francisco 517 00:31:22,839 --> 00:31:24,758 REPORTER (over TV): Omaha is caught in the crosshairs. 518 00:31:24,758 --> 00:31:26,301 REPORTER (over TV): On the rise in San Diego. 519 00:31:26,301 --> 00:31:28,470 REPORTER (over TV): That means more customers for the cartels. 520 00:31:30,555 --> 00:31:34,726 MARIANA: The US is now home to an estimated one million meth addicts. 521 00:31:34,726 --> 00:31:37,896 An epidemic that's killing thousands of people a year. 522 00:31:38,730 --> 00:31:41,358 I wonder how Mike, the dealer I met in Austin, 523 00:31:41,358 --> 00:31:44,653 feels about his role in such a deadly epidemic. 524 00:31:44,653 --> 00:31:46,530 So I reach back out. 525 00:31:46,530 --> 00:31:49,866 And I ask if he's still planning to come to LA for business. 526 00:31:51,243 --> 00:31:56,414 MIKE: So as if my life couldn't get any more crazier, 527 00:31:57,666 --> 00:32:01,795 it was just a (bleep) show today. 528 00:32:02,337 --> 00:32:05,298 MARIANA: His reply is the first in a series of nearly 529 00:32:05,298 --> 00:32:07,509 incoherent video texts. 530 00:32:07,509 --> 00:32:09,427 MIKE: There's someone always watching you. 531 00:32:09,427 --> 00:32:11,680 At every time, every minute, every day, 532 00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:13,223 every hour, every hour, every week, every week, 533 00:32:13,223 --> 00:32:14,558 every month, every month, 534 00:32:14,558 --> 00:32:16,059 every year, every year for the rest of your life. 535 00:32:16,059 --> 00:32:18,395 MARIANA: I ask where he is, but it's not totally clear 536 00:32:18,395 --> 00:32:20,397 from his next text. 537 00:32:20,397 --> 00:32:22,232 MIKE: Here I am still with no ID, 538 00:32:22,232 --> 00:32:25,694 wondering how am I gonna make (bleep) happen in. 539 00:32:25,694 --> 00:32:29,281 MARIANA: Mike tells me he's on his way to meet me but then I get this. 540 00:32:29,281 --> 00:32:31,867 MIKE: I'm literally, literally, literally on my last dime. 541 00:32:31,867 --> 00:32:35,787 So now, what to do? 542 00:32:36,246 --> 00:32:38,123 MARIANA: It's like I'm watching him unravel. 543 00:32:46,464 --> 00:32:50,552 MARIANA: Finally, he tells me he's in San Diego and then 544 00:32:50,552 --> 00:32:53,096 the line suddenly goes dark. 545 00:32:54,181 --> 00:32:57,350 What I thought was simply the last link in the meth supply chain, 546 00:32:57,350 --> 00:33:00,061 a street‐level dealer, is actually a window into 547 00:33:00,061 --> 00:33:02,981 the raging epidemic itself. 548 00:33:02,981 --> 00:33:05,984 Mike's disappearance is evidence of the very dark places 549 00:33:05,984 --> 00:33:08,028 where meth addiction leads, 550 00:33:08,028 --> 00:33:11,907 reminding me of something one of his clients told me back in Austin. 551 00:33:12,449 --> 00:33:14,910 WOMAN: I've been really lucky in a lot of ways, 552 00:33:14,910 --> 00:33:21,333 I've never been arrested, I've never stolen anything from anybody, 553 00:33:21,625 --> 00:33:23,168 I haven't had to sell my body. 554 00:33:23,168 --> 00:33:25,128 I've, all these things that I've seen a lot of really 555 00:33:25,128 --> 00:33:28,632 smart and really good people do just because that's what 556 00:33:28,632 --> 00:33:30,800 this drug pushes you to do. 557 00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:32,344 It is not easy. 558 00:33:32,344 --> 00:33:35,513 And mom guilt is very real. 559 00:33:35,513 --> 00:33:38,266 And pressure is very real there. 560 00:33:38,266 --> 00:33:41,561 I mean, that's just what also comes with meth, right? 561 00:33:41,561 --> 00:33:43,855 Guilt and shame and pressure. 562 00:33:43,855 --> 00:33:46,274 Uh‐hmm. 563 00:33:52,030 --> 00:33:55,784 MARIANA: Three days later, I get a message that Mike has made it to LA. 564 00:33:55,784 --> 00:33:58,536 He wants to meet at his motel. 565 00:33:58,536 --> 00:34:01,665 I have a hunch things are about to get messy. 566 00:34:02,207 --> 00:34:03,458 MIKE: Can we cut real quick? 567 00:34:03,458 --> 00:34:05,585 I'm just starting to, like, hyperventilate. 568 00:34:05,585 --> 00:34:07,921 Hmm. 569 00:34:13,510 --> 00:34:17,138 ♪ ♪ 570 00:34:17,138 --> 00:34:18,598 MARIANA: Okay. So Mike, what are we doing here? 571 00:34:18,598 --> 00:34:20,475 MIKE: We are actually fulfilling orders that were 572 00:34:20,475 --> 00:34:22,978 sent to me through my clientele. 573 00:34:22,978 --> 00:34:25,313 MARIANA: After several days of radio silence, 574 00:34:25,313 --> 00:34:29,234 Mike resurfaces in Los Angeles and invites me to his motel room. 575 00:34:35,740 --> 00:34:37,534 MARIANA: He seems scattered from the start. 576 00:34:39,160 --> 00:34:40,662 MIKE: Yeah. I am. 577 00:34:40,662 --> 00:34:42,872 I get really all (bleep) nerve and so I need something to 578 00:34:42,872 --> 00:34:44,249 kinda calm me down. 579 00:34:44,249 --> 00:34:46,626 It's like I gotta be high on something every day. 580 00:34:46,876 --> 00:34:48,295 MARIANA: After taking the edge off, 581 00:34:48,295 --> 00:34:50,672 Mike agrees to show me how he ships the meth he buys 582 00:34:50,672 --> 00:34:54,259 wholesale in Calexico to clients across the country. 583 00:34:56,386 --> 00:34:58,388 You're gonna put the drugs inside lunchboxes? 584 00:34:58,388 --> 00:34:59,514 MIKE: Yes. 585 00:34:59,514 --> 00:35:01,099 So in the case at which they get X‐rayed, 586 00:35:01,099 --> 00:35:03,018 it's gonna be harder to see what's inside. 587 00:35:03,018 --> 00:35:07,397 And because of this, it sounds like a puzzle. 588 00:35:07,814 --> 00:35:11,526 MARIANA: It seems the sheer availability of pure Mexican 589 00:35:11,526 --> 00:35:14,946 meth has been a huge part of the drug's resurgence. 590 00:35:15,530 --> 00:35:18,325 It's a cheap high and for a country with a massive 591 00:35:18,325 --> 00:35:21,411 addiction problem, that's irresistible in spite of 592 00:35:21,411 --> 00:35:24,122 meth's ugly reputation. 593 00:35:24,122 --> 00:35:26,875 MIKE: It's more of a taboo because of the stigma behind it. 594 00:35:26,875 --> 00:35:28,543 MARIANA: So why did you let us come with you? 595 00:35:28,543 --> 00:35:31,171 MIKE: Just because it's not what people think it is. 596 00:35:31,171 --> 00:35:33,340 Some of the greatest people that I know use it. 597 00:35:33,340 --> 00:35:35,175 Some of the most smartest people that I know use it. 598 00:35:35,175 --> 00:35:36,760 If you look at the community as a whole, 599 00:35:36,760 --> 00:35:39,471 there's a lot of people that use it in different ways. 600 00:35:43,183 --> 00:35:44,184 Can we cut real quick? 601 00:35:44,184 --> 00:35:45,560 MARIANA: Yeah. 602 00:35:45,560 --> 00:35:47,646 MIKE: I'm just starting to, like, hyperventilate. 603 00:35:47,646 --> 00:35:49,189 MARIANA: Do you want water? 604 00:35:49,189 --> 00:35:52,317 It's a profitable business, but not an easy one for a 605 00:35:52,317 --> 00:35:55,987 hardcore user like Mike and the more time I spend with him, 606 00:35:55,987 --> 00:35:59,407 the more I witness the messy reality of his addiction. 607 00:35:59,866 --> 00:36:02,327 MIKE: Yeah, I'm a hot mess and it's, 608 00:36:02,327 --> 00:36:05,497 yeah, it's not getting easier. 609 00:36:05,497 --> 00:36:08,708 And I think it's just from the long‐term uses of it. 610 00:36:08,708 --> 00:36:10,335 (phone vibrating). 611 00:36:10,335 --> 00:36:11,711 MARIANA: You're getting a call from your mom. 612 00:36:11,711 --> 00:36:13,421 MIKE: It's okay. 613 00:36:13,421 --> 00:36:14,881 MARIANA: You're not answering? 614 00:36:14,881 --> 00:36:15,924 MIKE: She wants answers to things that I don't have the 615 00:36:15,924 --> 00:36:17,092 answers to right now, so. 616 00:36:17,092 --> 00:36:18,510 MARIANA: Does she know where you are? 617 00:36:18,510 --> 00:36:19,594 MIKE: Yeah. 618 00:36:19,594 --> 00:36:20,679 MARIANA: Does she what you're doing? 619 00:36:20,679 --> 00:36:22,180 MIKE: Yeah. 620 00:36:22,180 --> 00:36:23,765 She doesn't like it and neither does the rest of my family. 621 00:36:23,765 --> 00:36:26,434 You know, they're worried about me because it's not 622 00:36:26,434 --> 00:36:30,605 about the drug usage, but it's more about if anything happens to me. 623 00:36:30,605 --> 00:36:32,732 MARIANA: How scared are you of going to prison? 624 00:36:32,732 --> 00:36:35,026 MIKE: It's on my mind every day. 625 00:36:35,026 --> 00:36:36,486 Considering how I have three felonies, 626 00:36:36,486 --> 00:36:38,822 if anything happens to these packages, 627 00:36:38,822 --> 00:36:41,658 it's bye‐bye, Birdie. 628 00:36:41,658 --> 00:36:45,078 MARIANA: I ask Mike about his first experience with meth. 629 00:36:45,078 --> 00:36:48,123 He points to a lunchbox that's headed to Key West. 630 00:36:48,707 --> 00:36:51,334 MIKE: He's the one that got me involved in all of this to begin with. 631 00:36:51,334 --> 00:36:52,836 He's my ex‐boyfriend. 632 00:36:52,836 --> 00:36:55,672 He's the one that tried to keep me away from it and I 633 00:36:55,672 --> 00:36:57,841 just came running towards it. 634 00:36:57,841 --> 00:36:59,551 He warned me, he really did. 635 00:36:59,551 --> 00:37:01,261 MARIANA: Does he use it as well? 636 00:37:01,261 --> 00:37:02,971 MIKE: Yeah, he does. 637 00:37:02,971 --> 00:37:04,514 MARIANA: Is he addicted to meth as well? 638 00:37:04,514 --> 00:37:07,183 MIKE: Well, I would assume so. 639 00:37:08,476 --> 00:37:10,687 MARIANA: Mike tells me that like a lot of users, 640 00:37:10,687 --> 00:37:14,983 his experience with meth is tied to a hard‐partying social scene. 641 00:37:14,983 --> 00:37:19,529 In fact, that's why he loves coming to Los Angeles. 642 00:37:21,364 --> 00:37:23,533 That night, Mike heads to West Hollywood, 643 00:37:23,533 --> 00:37:26,494 the epicenter of gay life in Los Angeles and fertile 644 00:37:26,494 --> 00:37:28,747 grounds for new clients. 645 00:37:28,747 --> 00:37:30,874 How do you sell? 646 00:37:30,874 --> 00:37:32,459 Do you go out and look for clients? 647 00:37:32,459 --> 00:37:34,502 MIKE: One of the biggest ways I've made my money was through 648 00:37:34,502 --> 00:37:36,463 social media, in the gay community, 649 00:37:36,463 --> 00:37:40,300 it's been like Grindr, Scruff, Adam4Adam, BBRT. 650 00:37:40,300 --> 00:37:44,471 These are all avenues for men to meet other men in and hook up. 651 00:37:44,471 --> 00:37:47,390 And that's where I come in. 652 00:37:48,600 --> 00:37:51,227 MARIANA: Mike can go to any city in the country and within 653 00:37:51,227 --> 00:37:53,480 minutes find customers. 654 00:37:53,480 --> 00:37:56,107 For gay men looking to hook up and get high, 655 00:37:56,107 --> 00:37:59,194 these apps give dealers like Mike an edge. 656 00:37:59,194 --> 00:38:02,071 And it's in these gay communities where Mike's 657 00:38:02,071 --> 00:38:05,033 personal and business interests converge. 658 00:38:08,703 --> 00:38:09,829 Lot of people though. 659 00:38:09,829 --> 00:38:11,039 Wow. 660 00:38:11,039 --> 00:38:12,749 MIKE: Yeah, this is all within a mile radius. 661 00:38:12,749 --> 00:38:14,209 MARIANA: Are you getting requests right now? 662 00:38:14,209 --> 00:38:16,127 MIKE: Yeah. I got people at the hotel waiting for me. 663 00:38:16,127 --> 00:38:17,712 MARIANA: Waiting for you to sell them meth? 664 00:38:17,712 --> 00:38:19,047 For you to have sex? 665 00:38:19,047 --> 00:38:20,840 MIKE: No, no, no. Maybe both, who knows. 666 00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:22,342 That's all I do all day. 667 00:38:22,342 --> 00:38:25,178 I try to have fun on the side and then get back to work. 668 00:38:25,637 --> 00:38:27,514 Now, there's a secret language online. 669 00:38:27,514 --> 00:38:30,308 There's a chance that this guy could smoke because of the T. 670 00:38:30,308 --> 00:38:31,434 It's capital 671 00:38:31,434 --> 00:38:33,019 MARIANA: And so T stands for Tina? 672 00:38:33,019 --> 00:38:35,188 MIKE: So, yes, but there's a lot of things that stand for Tina. 673 00:38:35,188 --> 00:38:38,650 Anything like a teacup or time for tea, 674 00:38:38,650 --> 00:38:40,318 which would be a clock, a little teacup, 675 00:38:40,318 --> 00:38:42,028 and then you also do diamonds. 676 00:38:42,028 --> 00:38:44,656 And there's party and play. 677 00:38:44,656 --> 00:38:45,949 MARIANA: Which means what? 678 00:38:45,949 --> 00:38:48,201 MIKE: They want to smoke meth and have sex. 679 00:38:49,744 --> 00:38:54,874 MARIANA: Mike tells me sex on meth is almost better than the drug itself. 680 00:38:55,708 --> 00:38:58,711 MIKE: For a lot of people, it makes them ferociously horny 681 00:38:58,711 --> 00:39:01,881 and then it becomes that sex is always gonna be associated 682 00:39:01,881 --> 00:39:04,467 with a certain substance. 683 00:39:04,467 --> 00:39:09,097 80% of all my clientele are either before they're PnP, or during. 684 00:39:09,597 --> 00:39:10,849 When I was on here the other night, 685 00:39:10,849 --> 00:39:13,810 every freaking guy that hit me up are like, 686 00:39:13,810 --> 00:39:15,645 "Are you partying? Partying? Partying? Partying?" 687 00:39:15,645 --> 00:39:18,648 I can't even leave a city block without being bombarded 688 00:39:18,648 --> 00:39:22,360 by either requests or people that want PnP. 689 00:39:22,360 --> 00:39:24,696 MARIANA: I've never seen a drug epidemic through the 690 00:39:24,696 --> 00:39:26,614 lens of a dating app. 691 00:39:26,614 --> 00:39:29,951 But there it is, the new faces of meth courtesy of a 692 00:39:29,951 --> 00:39:35,248 seemingly endless stream of online profiles looking to party. 693 00:39:36,833 --> 00:39:39,335 Why do you think meth is so prevalent in the gay community? 694 00:39:39,335 --> 00:39:41,087 MIKE: It's larger in the gay community, yes it is, 695 00:39:41,087 --> 00:39:43,423 but it doesn't symbol the gay community as a whole. 696 00:39:43,423 --> 00:39:45,633 It's one niche in the gay community, 697 00:39:45,633 --> 00:39:49,929 and if you want to see it, log on from 2:00 to 6:00 in the morning. 698 00:39:49,929 --> 00:39:51,389 MARIANA: Right. 699 00:39:52,140 --> 00:39:54,767 MIKE: Uh, would you excuse me. 700 00:39:54,767 --> 00:39:58,021 My cognitivity is starting to go out the window. 701 00:39:58,021 --> 00:40:01,441 I'll start with one subject and I'll nod out real quick 702 00:40:01,441 --> 00:40:04,152 and start a whole completely different one. 703 00:40:04,152 --> 00:40:06,905 It's because my brain is starting to just spark. 704 00:40:06,905 --> 00:40:10,617 It's getting tired and it's gonna shut down. 705 00:40:10,867 --> 00:40:12,243 (phone vibrating). 706 00:40:12,243 --> 00:40:14,662 MARIANA: It's your mom again. 707 00:40:14,662 --> 00:40:15,914 You have to call her at some point. 708 00:40:15,914 --> 00:40:16,915 MIKE: Yeah. 709 00:40:16,915 --> 00:40:18,666 Hola guapas. 710 00:40:18,666 --> 00:40:20,335 I'm still working right now. 711 00:40:20,335 --> 00:40:21,628 MOTHER (over phone): Did you find out anything? 712 00:40:21,628 --> 00:40:23,338 MIKE: I'll be home tomorrow. 713 00:40:23,338 --> 00:40:25,006 MOTHER (over phone): You don't even have your plane ticket. 714 00:40:25,006 --> 00:40:26,341 How can you tell me that? 715 00:40:26,341 --> 00:40:27,383 MIKE: Um, I don't know. 716 00:40:27,383 --> 00:40:29,636 Um... 717 00:40:29,636 --> 00:40:30,595 MOTHER (over phone): I don't want you to tell me something that's not gonna happen. 718 00:40:30,595 --> 00:40:32,013 MIKE: Okay. 719 00:40:32,013 --> 00:40:33,264 I love you, I gotta go mom, I'm on, I'm, I gotta go. 720 00:40:33,264 --> 00:40:35,224 MOTHER (over phone): You need to tell me. 721 00:40:35,224 --> 00:40:36,517 MIKE: I don't know, Mom. 722 00:40:36,517 --> 00:40:38,561 Please. 723 00:40:38,561 --> 00:40:39,687 MOTHER (over phone): You always say, "Mom, please," but you never get back with me. 724 00:40:39,687 --> 00:40:41,856 MIKE: Mom, please? I will talk to you. 725 00:40:41,856 --> 00:40:43,107 MOTHER (over phone): When? 726 00:40:43,107 --> 00:40:45,068 MIKE: Mom, I need to get off the phone. 727 00:40:45,068 --> 00:40:47,070 MOTHER (over phone): Okay. Love you. Bye. 728 00:40:47,070 --> 00:40:48,988 MARIANA: Aw. 729 00:40:48,988 --> 00:40:51,282 She's so worried about you. 730 00:40:51,282 --> 00:40:54,327 MIKE: Yeah. I'm tired. 731 00:40:54,327 --> 00:40:58,122 I am completely and utterly exhausted. 732 00:40:58,122 --> 00:40:59,874 I am leaving this car now. 733 00:40:59,874 --> 00:41:01,960 MARIANA: Stay safe. Call your mom back. 734 00:41:01,960 --> 00:41:04,671 Bye, Mike. 735 00:41:09,384 --> 00:41:11,386 It's sad. 736 00:41:11,386 --> 00:41:13,721 It's sad especially to see his mom calling him, you know so worried about him 737 00:41:13,721 --> 00:41:15,598 and wondering when he's gonna go back home. 738 00:41:15,598 --> 00:41:18,685 And she knows full well what he's doing here too. 739 00:41:18,685 --> 00:41:20,687 So as a mother myself, that really, 740 00:41:20,687 --> 00:41:23,147 that moment really got to me. 741 00:41:24,357 --> 00:41:26,109 He says he wants to quit. 742 00:41:26,109 --> 00:41:28,653 He says that in a few months, that's his plan. 743 00:41:28,653 --> 00:41:32,156 But as he knows full well himself, 744 00:41:32,156 --> 00:41:34,534 it's a really hard drug to quit. 745 00:41:34,534 --> 00:41:37,495 He's tried it a few times and he hasn't been successful at it, 746 00:41:37,495 --> 00:41:40,373 but we'll see what happens this time. 747 00:41:45,169 --> 00:41:49,132 The current meth epidemic is many things to many people. 748 00:41:49,132 --> 00:41:51,384 For a handful of cartel bosses, 749 00:41:51,384 --> 00:41:52,969 it's a windfall. 750 00:41:52,969 --> 00:41:55,722 For thousands of people who depend on the meth pipeline to 751 00:41:55,722 --> 00:41:58,516 make their living, it's a paycheck. 752 00:41:58,516 --> 00:42:03,312 And for millions of addicts and their families, it's a curse. 753 00:42:12,947 --> 00:42:14,657 MOTHER: What are you gonna be cooking? 754 00:42:14,657 --> 00:42:16,617 MIKE: Macaroni. 755 00:42:16,617 --> 00:42:18,411 MARIANA: A few weeks later back in Austin, 756 00:42:18,411 --> 00:42:20,329 Mike is cooking dinner with his mom. 757 00:42:20,913 --> 00:42:23,124 MOTHER: Where are your potholders? 758 00:42:23,124 --> 00:42:26,169 Oh, there's your colander too. 759 00:42:26,169 --> 00:42:27,253 We're gonna need it. 760 00:42:27,253 --> 00:42:29,047 MARIANA: But she's worried about him. 761 00:42:29,047 --> 00:42:31,799 And the conversation quickly turns serious. 762 00:42:31,799 --> 00:42:33,509 MOTHER: Do you believe you have a serious addiction? 763 00:42:33,509 --> 00:42:35,053 MIKE: Who doesn't have an addiction? 764 00:42:35,053 --> 00:42:37,513 Who doesn't have an addiction to something? 765 00:42:37,513 --> 00:42:44,187 Mine just seems to be with crystal meth and... 766 00:42:44,187 --> 00:42:45,772 a lot of other things. 767 00:42:45,772 --> 00:42:46,939 MOTHER: The money? 768 00:42:46,939 --> 00:42:49,859 MIKE: The money, the interaction. 769 00:42:52,403 --> 00:42:54,280 MOTHER: You know, have you ever thought to yourself, 770 00:42:54,280 --> 00:42:57,575 "Am I hurting people out there"? 771 00:42:57,575 --> 00:43:00,119 MIKE: I don't have a gun to their head. 772 00:43:00,119 --> 00:43:04,207 I'm not selling to anyone that hasn't previously used. 773 00:43:14,509 --> 00:43:17,678 MARIANA: In my experience, dealers and users always find 774 00:43:17,678 --> 00:43:20,264 a way to justify what they are doing. 775 00:43:20,264 --> 00:43:24,310 And all too often, it's mom who pays the price. 776 00:43:25,103 --> 00:43:28,648 MOTHER: I still have hope, one day you're gonna put this behind you. 777 00:43:29,273 --> 00:43:31,234 I have hope. 778 00:43:31,234 --> 00:43:33,319 MIKE: I am, Mom, I can't tell you the future because it's not written yet. 779 00:43:33,319 --> 00:43:34,779 MOTHER: No, exactly. No, no. 780 00:43:34,779 --> 00:43:36,906 I'm not asking you to tell me your future. 781 00:43:36,906 --> 00:43:38,825 MIKE: I don't know. 782 00:43:38,825 --> 00:43:42,245 My goal is just to live longer than you. 783 00:43:49,210 --> 00:43:50,461 MOTHER: Are you waiting on someone? 784 00:43:50,461 --> 00:43:51,629 MIKE: Yeah. 785 00:43:51,629 --> 00:43:53,256 I'm just gonna step out for a second. 786 00:43:53,256 --> 00:43:55,633 I have to meet my buddy outside. 787 00:44:00,012 --> 00:44:01,722 Captioned by Cotter Media Group.