1 00:00:01,460 --> 00:00:11,678 ♪ ♪ 2 00:00:11,678 --> 00:00:13,180 (Mariana speaking Spanish) 3 00:00:16,808 --> 00:00:18,435 MARIANA: I can see somebody. 4 00:00:21,021 --> 00:00:24,316 Okay. So this is our welcoming committee. 5 00:00:24,316 --> 00:00:38,997 ♪ ♪ 6 00:00:47,297 --> 00:00:53,470 ♪ ♪ 7 00:00:53,470 --> 00:00:56,807 MARIANA: Five years ago, almost no one had heard of it. 8 00:00:56,807 --> 00:00:59,434 Today it's a household name. 9 00:00:59,434 --> 00:01:00,644 Fentanyl. 10 00:01:10,112 --> 00:01:13,657 MARIANA: In the US, fentanyl is helping drive overdose deaths 11 00:01:13,657 --> 00:01:15,158 to record highs. 12 00:01:15,158 --> 00:01:17,911 OFFICER: It's wiping out a generation. 13 00:01:17,911 --> 00:01:20,539 MARIANA: While in Mexico, it's disrupting the drug trade 14 00:01:20,539 --> 00:01:23,000 in ways not seen in generations. 15 00:01:27,629 --> 00:01:30,048 MARIANA: But few people understand how the cartels 16 00:01:30,048 --> 00:01:31,550 are getting their hands on the chemicals 17 00:01:31,550 --> 00:01:34,261 necessary to make fentanyl, 18 00:01:34,261 --> 00:01:36,054 or what the fallout will be 19 00:01:36,054 --> 00:01:38,265 if they continue to churn these raw ingredients 20 00:01:38,265 --> 00:01:40,767 into more deadly pills and powders. 21 00:01:46,148 --> 00:01:48,775 (siren) 22 00:01:52,195 --> 00:01:54,031 MARIANA: From Mexico's cartel country 23 00:01:54,031 --> 00:01:55,949 to the border and into American communities... 24 00:01:55,949 --> 00:01:57,326 Whoa. 25 00:01:57,326 --> 00:02:00,037 ...I'm going deep inside the fentanyl pipeline 26 00:02:00,037 --> 00:02:02,456 to see exactly how it's fueling 27 00:02:02,456 --> 00:02:05,417 the most devastating drug epidemic in US history. 28 00:02:14,384 --> 00:02:23,852 ♪ ♪ 29 00:02:24,561 --> 00:02:28,273 (siren) 30 00:02:36,615 --> 00:02:38,241 MAN: Okay, received. 31 00:02:38,241 --> 00:02:40,118 (siren) 32 00:02:40,118 --> 00:02:43,038 MARIANA: Like many first responders across New England, 33 00:02:43,038 --> 00:02:44,414 the Manchester Fire Department 34 00:02:44,414 --> 00:02:48,126 handles far more overdoses than fires. 35 00:02:48,126 --> 00:02:50,629 So it says it's a 26‐year‐old female, 36 00:02:50,629 --> 00:02:54,257 overdose, not conscious, turning blue. 37 00:02:56,927 --> 00:02:59,137 New Hampshire has one of the highest rates 38 00:02:59,137 --> 00:03:01,264 of opioid‐related deaths in the country. 39 00:03:01,264 --> 00:03:03,725 Looks like we're the first ones here. 40 00:03:03,725 --> 00:03:04,518 MAN: Yeah, we're it. 41 00:03:04,518 --> 00:03:09,648 ♪ ♪ 42 00:03:09,648 --> 00:03:13,276 MARIANA: The chief is in there trying to revive this patient. 43 00:03:13,276 --> 00:03:16,029 I got to see inside, there was a woman on the floor, 44 00:03:16,029 --> 00:03:19,700 it was an overdose, she was overdosing. 45 00:03:19,700 --> 00:03:22,828 ♪ ♪ 46 00:03:22,828 --> 00:03:25,455 WOMAN: Heroin may kill. 47 00:03:25,455 --> 00:03:28,125 Fentanyl will kill. 48 00:03:28,125 --> 00:03:30,544 They took him from us. 49 00:03:30,544 --> 00:03:33,588 MARIANA: I first reported on fentanyl in 2015, 50 00:03:33,588 --> 00:03:36,383 when most Americans had never even heard of the drug. 51 00:03:36,383 --> 00:03:38,343 Another overdose. 52 00:03:38,343 --> 00:03:41,346 What I witnessed was shocking. 53 00:03:41,346 --> 00:03:42,347 And this is what they're finding 54 00:03:42,347 --> 00:03:44,433 in a lot of these overdose sites. 55 00:03:44,433 --> 00:03:47,185 Fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin 56 00:03:47,185 --> 00:03:50,814 and killed 20,000 people the following year. 57 00:03:50,814 --> 00:03:54,484 Today the situation is even worse. 58 00:03:54,484 --> 00:03:55,777 MAN: It's like playing Russian roulette 59 00:03:55,777 --> 00:03:57,571 with a completely loaded gun. 60 00:03:57,571 --> 00:03:59,239 You're going to die, 61 00:03:59,239 --> 00:04:01,283 and it could be the first time you pull the trigger. 62 00:04:01,283 --> 00:04:03,869 But every chamber's full, and how, you know, 63 00:04:03,869 --> 00:04:07,164 you wanna take a 90% chance that you're gonna succumb to that 64 00:04:07,164 --> 00:04:09,583 in seconds or minutes. 65 00:04:09,583 --> 00:04:11,334 That is mind‐boggling. 66 00:04:11,334 --> 00:04:13,628 MAN: Yo, come on. Get up, man. 67 00:04:13,628 --> 00:04:15,213 Come on, get up. Come on, get up. 68 00:04:15,213 --> 00:04:17,257 Come on, get up, buddy. 69 00:04:17,257 --> 00:04:19,176 MARIANA: What do you think needs to happen for this to end? 70 00:04:19,176 --> 00:04:21,094 Certainly less drugs on the streets, right? 71 00:04:21,094 --> 00:04:23,930 Less drugs entering the United States? 72 00:04:23,930 --> 00:04:25,182 You don't think so? 73 00:04:33,732 --> 00:04:36,485 MARIANA: To understand why fentanyl is more prolific, 74 00:04:36,485 --> 00:04:39,529 potent, and killing more people than ever, 75 00:04:39,529 --> 00:04:43,074 I have to go to the source... 76 00:04:43,074 --> 00:04:45,118 the Mexican cartels. 77 00:04:45,118 --> 00:04:50,832 ♪ ♪ 78 00:04:50,832 --> 00:04:52,334 MARIANA: It's go time. 79 00:04:52,334 --> 00:04:56,004 ♪ ♪ 80 00:04:56,004 --> 00:04:58,757 Our contact sent us a location of where to meet them. 81 00:04:58,757 --> 00:05:01,426 It's at a port on a coast close by. 82 00:05:01,426 --> 00:05:05,472 It's about 20 minutes away from where we are right now. 83 00:05:05,472 --> 00:05:08,850 Fentanyl is the most dangerous drug in America, 84 00:05:08,850 --> 00:05:14,147 and much of it comes from right here in Sinaloa, Mexico. 85 00:05:14,147 --> 00:05:15,315 Hey, guys, what's happening? 86 00:05:26,076 --> 00:05:27,619 MARIANA: Oh, my God. 87 00:05:27,619 --> 00:05:29,704 Okay, we're trying to get there as fast as possible. 88 00:05:29,704 --> 00:05:32,624 We've been in town less than 24 hours, 89 00:05:32,624 --> 00:05:35,877 and already my cartel contact has gotten us a lead 90 00:05:35,877 --> 00:05:38,547 on the arrival of a new shipment. 91 00:05:38,547 --> 00:05:39,923 So that's one of the things, you know, 92 00:05:39,923 --> 00:05:42,551 when you're following a real shipment and supply of drugs, 93 00:05:42,551 --> 00:05:44,344 is that they're not gonna wait around for us 94 00:05:44,344 --> 00:05:46,596 before they, it goes to the next location. 95 00:05:46,596 --> 00:05:50,308 ♪ ♪ 96 00:05:50,308 --> 00:05:52,602 (exhales) 97 00:05:52,602 --> 00:05:53,645 So we're just crossing our fingers 98 00:05:53,645 --> 00:05:56,648 and hoping that nothing falls through. 99 00:05:56,648 --> 00:05:58,316 There are two ways fentanyl 100 00:05:58,316 --> 00:06:00,652 illegally enters the United States: 101 00:06:00,652 --> 00:06:03,488 through black market mail orders from China 102 00:06:03,488 --> 00:06:07,492 or via Mexico's drug cartels, the people I'm trying to meet. 103 00:06:14,749 --> 00:06:17,836 MARIANA: Yeah, so it's... that's him right up there. 104 00:06:17,836 --> 00:06:19,170 They don't want us to show their faces or anything, 105 00:06:19,170 --> 00:06:20,589 so just be careful. 106 00:06:20,589 --> 00:06:21,798 But this is our guy. 107 00:06:34,352 --> 00:06:36,730 MARIANA: Our hope for access comes through. 108 00:06:36,730 --> 00:06:39,733 My sources inside the Sinaloa cartel have agreed 109 00:06:39,733 --> 00:06:44,779 to show me the critical first step in their fentanyl pipeline. 110 00:06:44,779 --> 00:06:46,197 So they've got this boat 111 00:06:46,197 --> 00:06:49,409 ready for us to go out on sea with them. 112 00:06:49,409 --> 00:06:52,662 Under the pretense of filming a little fishing expedition, 113 00:06:52,662 --> 00:06:54,497 we're actually heading out to film something 114 00:06:54,497 --> 00:06:57,000 that has never ever been filmed before. 115 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:10,472 ♪ ♪ 116 00:07:10,472 --> 00:07:12,891 We're being taken out to sea by a guy who's asked us 117 00:07:12,891 --> 00:07:15,185 specifically not to even point the camera in his direction. 118 00:07:15,185 --> 00:07:17,187 He doesn't wanna be filmed at all. 119 00:07:17,187 --> 00:07:20,607 And supposedly, we heard that our contacts 120 00:07:20,607 --> 00:07:23,568 will be waiting for us somewhere out at sea, 121 00:07:23,568 --> 00:07:29,115 and then we'll be told what the plan is. 122 00:07:29,115 --> 00:07:32,452 Fentanyl has been called Mexico's ghost drug 123 00:07:32,452 --> 00:07:35,622 because nobody has any idea how much is being produced 124 00:07:35,622 --> 00:07:38,458 and imported into the United States, 125 00:07:38,458 --> 00:07:41,836 but what's beyond a shred of doubt is its impact. 126 00:07:41,836 --> 00:07:43,588 WOMAN: Hey! 127 00:07:43,588 --> 00:07:45,340 MARIANA: Opioids are now the number one cause 128 00:07:45,340 --> 00:07:47,759 of accidental deaths in the US, 129 00:07:47,759 --> 00:07:50,887 killing more people than guns or car crashes. 130 00:07:50,887 --> 00:07:51,930 WOMAN: Yeah, let's lay her down flat. 131 00:07:51,930 --> 00:07:53,640 Everybody lay her down flat, okay? 132 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:55,809 MARIANA: In just a few years, fentanyl has become 133 00:07:55,809 --> 00:07:58,812 the most popular synthetic opioid on the streets, 134 00:07:58,812 --> 00:08:00,939 and Mexico's cartels have stepped up 135 00:08:00,939 --> 00:08:04,025 to supply this demand. 136 00:08:04,025 --> 00:08:05,735 But it's a little known secret 137 00:08:05,735 --> 00:08:08,947 that the cartels can't make the drug themselves. 138 00:08:08,947 --> 00:08:12,283 They first need to source these potent chemicals 139 00:08:12,283 --> 00:08:15,537 from somewhere or someone else. 140 00:08:21,668 --> 00:08:22,794 There's a boat that I think 141 00:08:22,794 --> 00:08:25,964 might be the people we're meeting, 142 00:08:25,964 --> 00:08:31,886 this boat right ahead, with three or four guys inside. 143 00:08:31,886 --> 00:08:34,597 There are cargo ships all around us, 144 00:08:34,597 --> 00:08:37,726 there's a fishing boat right here. 145 00:08:37,726 --> 00:08:39,811 And then, we see it. 146 00:08:39,811 --> 00:08:41,104 Oh, my (bleep) lord. 147 00:08:41,104 --> 00:08:44,190 A row of large plastic barrels floating towards 148 00:08:44,190 --> 00:08:47,610 the small tourist boat we've been following. 149 00:08:47,610 --> 00:08:49,696 Barrels that have been tossed from the stern 150 00:08:49,696 --> 00:08:52,198 of a rust‐covered fishing trawler nearby. 151 00:08:52,198 --> 00:08:53,992 There were about ten barrels, white barrels, 152 00:08:53,992 --> 00:08:56,619 that were thrown out to sea. 153 00:08:56,619 --> 00:08:58,538 Packed inside are the potent chemicals 154 00:08:58,538 --> 00:09:01,458 the cartels need to create fentanyl. 155 00:09:01,458 --> 00:09:03,710 I mean, it's so (bleep) crazy. 156 00:09:03,710 --> 00:09:05,170 You look at it, 157 00:09:05,170 --> 00:09:08,715 and it just looks like a totally normal fishing boat. 158 00:09:08,715 --> 00:09:10,508 There's hundreds, if not thousands of them 159 00:09:10,508 --> 00:09:12,677 around the coast of Mexico. 160 00:09:12,677 --> 00:09:14,012 In a way, it's sort of the perfect crime 161 00:09:14,012 --> 00:09:16,431 because it's so indistinguishable. 162 00:09:16,431 --> 00:09:18,183 It would never raise any alarm. 163 00:09:22,979 --> 00:09:24,689 (man speaking Spanish) 164 00:09:24,689 --> 00:09:25,607 MARIANA: Okay, it has to be really quick. 165 00:09:25,607 --> 00:09:27,192 So it has to be really quick, guys. 166 00:09:27,192 --> 00:09:28,693 They're saying that they don't feel obviously safe here. 167 00:09:30,779 --> 00:09:32,614 (Mariana speaking Spanish) 168 00:09:32,614 --> 00:09:34,240 MARIANA: What's inside the barrels? 169 00:09:48,671 --> 00:09:50,048 Wow. 170 00:09:50,048 --> 00:09:53,468 (man speaking Spanish) 171 00:09:53,468 --> 00:09:54,511 MARIANA: Wow. So they're saying 172 00:09:54,511 --> 00:09:56,179 that it was one of these big cargo ships 173 00:09:56,179 --> 00:09:59,432 that we see all around us that threw these barrels oversea. 174 00:09:59,432 --> 00:10:01,059 Then the fishing boat over here 175 00:10:01,059 --> 00:10:03,520 got a GPS location of where to pick them up, 176 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:04,562 picks them up, brings it out, 177 00:10:04,562 --> 00:10:06,272 and then there's a meeting point here 178 00:10:06,272 --> 00:10:07,607 where these guys come and pick it up 179 00:10:07,607 --> 00:10:09,818 and then take it to off to land. 180 00:10:14,697 --> 00:10:18,451 Mazatlán is one of Mexico's busiest Pacific ports, 181 00:10:18,451 --> 00:10:21,246 and while most of these international container ships 182 00:10:21,246 --> 00:10:23,498 are moving legitimate commercial goods, 183 00:10:23,498 --> 00:10:26,209 the smugglers tell me that some of the people on board 184 00:10:26,209 --> 00:10:29,045 are in business with the Sinaloa cartel, 185 00:10:29,045 --> 00:10:32,841 delivering the chemicals they need from Asia or Europe. 186 00:10:36,136 --> 00:10:37,887 Okay. Sí, okay. 187 00:10:37,887 --> 00:10:39,472 They say they have to go 188 00:10:39,472 --> 00:10:41,933 because there's Marines all around us, and they're worried. 189 00:10:41,933 --> 00:10:47,981 ♪ ♪ 190 00:10:47,981 --> 00:10:49,732 We should definitely keep our distance 191 00:10:49,732 --> 00:10:52,277 because we have a boat packed with drugs, 192 00:10:52,277 --> 00:10:53,444 and if the Marines come or anything, 193 00:10:53,444 --> 00:10:54,779 we don't want to be seen 194 00:10:54,779 --> 00:10:58,116 being part of this operation, you know? 195 00:10:58,116 --> 00:11:02,078 Incredibly, one of the cartel's most dangerous drugs 196 00:11:02,078 --> 00:11:05,165 is being trafficked in plain sight. 197 00:11:05,165 --> 00:11:07,083 ♪ ♪ 198 00:11:07,083 --> 00:11:08,543 You can see what's happening right behind me, 199 00:11:08,543 --> 00:11:10,795 they're unloading the boat one barrel at a time 200 00:11:10,795 --> 00:11:12,630 going to shore. 201 00:11:12,630 --> 00:11:14,382 We're in a little port 202 00:11:14,382 --> 00:11:16,801 surrounded by other fishing boats. 203 00:11:16,801 --> 00:11:19,137 There's actually a tourist boat 204 00:11:19,137 --> 00:11:24,142 with about 50 people heading out right now, right next to us. 205 00:11:24,142 --> 00:11:26,102 Earlier, I'd asked my contact 206 00:11:26,102 --> 00:11:29,981 if we could follow this shipment from start to finish. 207 00:11:29,981 --> 00:11:33,693 The answer was yes, if we can keep up. 208 00:11:33,693 --> 00:11:35,111 We're here. We're here. 209 00:11:35,111 --> 00:11:38,489 We're coming up. Okay, quick. 210 00:11:38,489 --> 00:11:41,492 ¿Ya se fueron? 211 00:11:41,492 --> 00:11:43,536 Are they here or they left? 212 00:11:43,536 --> 00:11:46,497 MAN: It was loaded from the boat to here 213 00:11:46,497 --> 00:11:48,499 in a matter of 15 seconds. 214 00:11:48,499 --> 00:11:50,877 MARIANA: I mean, it was crazy, the whole thing took about, 215 00:11:50,877 --> 00:11:52,170 I don't know, 10 seconds? I don't know. 216 00:11:52,170 --> 00:11:53,504 MAN: Yeah. 217 00:11:53,504 --> 00:11:54,422 MARIANA: We've been waiting and planning this 218 00:11:54,422 --> 00:11:55,882 for months and months. 219 00:11:57,634 --> 00:11:59,677 MAN: A car just like that one. 220 00:11:59,677 --> 00:12:00,553 MARIANA: Oh, it's like a tourist car? 221 00:12:00,553 --> 00:12:02,222 MAN: Yes. Just like that one. 222 00:12:02,222 --> 00:12:03,973 MARIANA: Oh, wow. 223 00:12:03,973 --> 00:12:06,476 So it's these cars that you see all around Mazatlán, 224 00:12:06,476 --> 00:12:10,230 which are these open trucks with these benches on the side, 225 00:12:10,230 --> 00:12:12,106 and they transport tourists around here 226 00:12:12,106 --> 00:12:14,734 in sort of these local tourist taxis. 227 00:12:14,734 --> 00:12:16,027 And that's where they loaded them. 228 00:12:16,027 --> 00:12:17,487 MAN: And that's where they loaded everything. 229 00:12:17,487 --> 00:12:18,488 ♪ ♪ 230 00:12:18,488 --> 00:12:23,201 (man singing in Spanish) 231 00:12:23,201 --> 00:12:24,953 ♪ ♪ 232 00:12:24,953 --> 00:12:27,538 MARIANA: Mazatlán is a popular resort town, 233 00:12:27,538 --> 00:12:29,582 and it seems like the drug smugglers here 234 00:12:29,582 --> 00:12:33,628 are using this to their advantage. 235 00:12:33,628 --> 00:12:35,922 None of the tourists appear to realize 236 00:12:35,922 --> 00:12:37,966 that this is a key staging ground 237 00:12:37,966 --> 00:12:40,551 for the cartel's booming fentanyl business. 238 00:12:46,599 --> 00:12:50,436 Keeping a low profile is key to a trafficker's survival. 239 00:12:50,436 --> 00:12:53,648 Mexican law enforcement is all over the city, 240 00:12:53,648 --> 00:12:56,567 and they're just one of many threats. 241 00:12:56,567 --> 00:13:00,989 (phone ringing) 242 00:13:00,989 --> 00:13:02,532 So why, what's happening? Why are we rushing? 243 00:13:07,578 --> 00:13:09,372 MARIANA: My team has reestablished contact 244 00:13:09,372 --> 00:13:11,374 with the smugglers, 245 00:13:11,374 --> 00:13:14,502 but now it seems we're not the only ones pursuing the shipment. 246 00:13:21,426 --> 00:13:22,302 MARIANA: Really? 247 00:13:34,772 --> 00:13:35,648 MARIANA: So gunmen? 248 00:13:38,318 --> 00:13:39,986 MARIANA: I'm hardly surprised, 249 00:13:39,986 --> 00:13:43,281 Mexico is being ripped apart by gun violence, 250 00:13:43,281 --> 00:13:47,702 as a dozen different cartels vie to control the drug trade. 251 00:13:47,702 --> 00:13:49,996 With 11 containers full of drugs, 252 00:13:49,996 --> 00:13:52,915 I'm sure that there's a lot of eyes out there, 253 00:13:52,915 --> 00:13:54,625 other people trying to get their hands on it. 254 00:13:54,625 --> 00:13:56,711 It's worth a lot of money. 255 00:13:56,711 --> 00:13:59,672 Of course if we can't lose the people following us, 256 00:13:59,672 --> 00:14:02,425 my contacts are going to disappear 257 00:14:02,425 --> 00:14:06,012 along with the fentanyl shipment I'm trying to catch up with. 258 00:14:23,988 --> 00:14:25,073 MARIANA: Let's just wait here for a second 259 00:14:25,073 --> 00:14:28,326 and see if by any chance we see them pass by us. 260 00:14:28,326 --> 00:14:30,661 I'm pursuing a group of fentanyl smugglers 261 00:14:30,661 --> 00:14:33,122 through downtown Mazatlán. 262 00:14:33,122 --> 00:14:36,042 But it now appears someone else is pursuing me. 263 00:14:39,837 --> 00:14:43,341 It could be the Sinaloa cartel, it could be a rival group, 264 00:14:43,341 --> 00:14:45,259 or it could be nothing. 265 00:14:45,259 --> 00:14:49,472 Reporting on narcos in Mexico can make you paranoid. 266 00:14:49,472 --> 00:14:52,433 Okay, so it looks like we've lost them. 267 00:14:52,433 --> 00:14:53,893 They're not behind us. 268 00:15:00,399 --> 00:15:02,276 (exhales) 269 00:15:02,276 --> 00:15:07,532 It's a relief, but it's also slowed us down. 270 00:15:07,532 --> 00:15:11,369 We need to catch up with the shipment we're following. 271 00:15:11,369 --> 00:15:13,246 We've been given access to film 272 00:15:13,246 --> 00:15:17,083 where they put these barrels with the fentanyl precursors 273 00:15:17,083 --> 00:15:19,544 before they ship them to the labs. 274 00:15:19,544 --> 00:15:22,046 But we're just waiting for an exact location. 275 00:15:26,592 --> 00:15:30,179 Okay, I think this is it. 276 00:15:30,179 --> 00:15:34,058 The GPS coordinates take us on a 30‐minute drive outside of town 277 00:15:34,058 --> 00:15:36,394 to a gated apartment complex. 278 00:15:38,855 --> 00:15:41,315 Okay, here, (bleep). Down. 279 00:15:41,315 --> 00:15:43,734 I think we should put cameras down, guys. Sorry, but. 280 00:15:53,744 --> 00:15:56,122 We have to be careful not to reveal the location 281 00:15:56,122 --> 00:15:58,958 or identities of our hosts. 282 00:15:58,958 --> 00:16:03,504 We're just following him, our contact. 283 00:16:03,504 --> 00:16:05,923 These apartments are called privadas, 284 00:16:05,923 --> 00:16:08,342 quiet residential communities. 285 00:16:08,342 --> 00:16:11,971 My contact tells me this privada is controlled by the cartel. 286 00:16:32,867 --> 00:16:35,578 MARIANA: The apartment is being used as a stash house; 287 00:16:35,578 --> 00:16:38,039 a temporary waystation where the product is safe 288 00:16:38,039 --> 00:16:40,208 from cops and competitors. 289 00:16:40,208 --> 00:16:43,461 And it's managed by these two men. 290 00:16:58,935 --> 00:17:00,186 MARIANA: Wow. 291 00:17:06,275 --> 00:17:12,156 MARIANA: You can hear it. It's all liquid inside. 292 00:17:12,156 --> 00:17:15,451 They say the chemicals swishing around inside these barrels 293 00:17:15,451 --> 00:17:18,955 will be transported to secret labs further inland 294 00:17:18,955 --> 00:17:20,915 where the cartel's chemists will process them 295 00:17:20,915 --> 00:17:23,334 into fentanyl itself. 296 00:17:23,334 --> 00:17:27,296 So all this stuff that they have here is worth about $350,000, 297 00:17:27,296 --> 00:17:28,923 and they're saying that once it actually gets mixed 298 00:17:28,923 --> 00:17:31,634 with the other products and transformed into fentanyl, 299 00:17:31,634 --> 00:17:33,970 that it's worth millions and millions of dollars. 300 00:17:40,434 --> 00:17:41,978 MARIANA: I've heard the cartels are getting 301 00:17:41,978 --> 00:17:45,898 medical‐grade pharmaceuticals from outside Mexico, 302 00:17:45,898 --> 00:17:47,191 and I want to know where. 303 00:18:06,210 --> 00:18:08,754 MARIANA: Pushing further will put these guys in a tough spot 304 00:18:08,754 --> 00:18:10,881 with their bosses. 305 00:18:10,881 --> 00:18:13,009 Since they won't let me open the packages, 306 00:18:13,009 --> 00:18:16,762 I can't implicate a specific country or company. 307 00:18:16,762 --> 00:18:19,265 DONALD TRUMP: Today President Xi and I discussed 308 00:18:19,265 --> 00:18:24,687 ways we can stop the lethal flow of poisonous drugs 309 00:18:24,687 --> 00:18:26,814 into our countries. 310 00:18:26,814 --> 00:18:31,652 A special emphasis will be placed on the new phenomena, 311 00:18:31,652 --> 00:18:34,530 fentanyl. 312 00:18:34,530 --> 00:18:37,283 MARIANA: It's a well‐known fact that China has thousands 313 00:18:37,283 --> 00:18:39,952 of poorly regulated chemical companies 314 00:18:39,952 --> 00:18:41,495 pumping out generic drugs 315 00:18:41,495 --> 00:18:44,290 and pharmaceutical ingredients every week. 316 00:18:47,209 --> 00:18:48,878 I really wish I could see what's written inside. 317 00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:52,298 MARIANA: Okay. (speaks Spanish) 318 00:19:13,027 --> 00:19:16,739 MARIANA: Trafficking networks are compartmentalized by design. 319 00:19:16,739 --> 00:19:18,532 (speaks Spanish) 320 00:19:18,532 --> 00:19:20,201 You get something from one guy 321 00:19:20,201 --> 00:19:24,246 and pass it along to someone else. 322 00:19:24,246 --> 00:19:29,418 In between, you do your job and you ask few questions. 323 00:19:29,418 --> 00:19:33,422 But this network is nothing if not efficient. 324 00:19:33,422 --> 00:19:36,175 My sources tell me it takes as little as eight days 325 00:19:36,175 --> 00:19:39,345 for the chemicals to move from a Pacific Ocean delivery 326 00:19:39,345 --> 00:19:43,391 to hidden cartel labs, then north across the US border 327 00:19:43,391 --> 00:19:46,936 and finally onto America's streets. 328 00:19:46,936 --> 00:19:48,437 MAN: Come on, get up, man. 329 00:19:48,437 --> 00:19:49,605 Come on, get up, buddy. 330 00:19:49,605 --> 00:19:52,274 (siren) 331 00:20:11,711 --> 00:20:16,382 MARIANA: Fentanyl was first created in Belgium in 1960. 332 00:20:16,382 --> 00:20:18,509 It was designed for use in surgery 333 00:20:18,509 --> 00:20:21,887 and to treat the most severe forms of pain. 334 00:20:21,887 --> 00:20:24,682 Over time, American pharmaceutical companies 335 00:20:24,682 --> 00:20:28,185 found a profitable way to market related opioid medications 336 00:20:28,185 --> 00:20:30,688 outside hospital settings. 337 00:20:30,688 --> 00:20:32,690 WOMAN: Since I've been on this new pain medication, 338 00:20:32,690 --> 00:20:34,400 I have not missed one day of work, 339 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:36,360 and my boss really appreciates that. 340 00:20:36,360 --> 00:20:39,363 MARIANA: Prescriptions surged, and patients were reassured 341 00:20:39,363 --> 00:20:41,240 that the risk of addiction was low. 342 00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:45,077 MAN: Less than 1% of patients taking opioids 343 00:20:45,077 --> 00:20:47,621 actually become addicted. 344 00:20:47,621 --> 00:20:49,123 MARIANA: They were very wrong. 345 00:20:49,123 --> 00:20:51,751 As fatal overdoses skyrocketed, 346 00:20:51,751 --> 00:20:55,463 doctors made prescription opioids harder to get. 347 00:20:55,463 --> 00:20:59,550 Addicts turned to heroin, and the crisis got worse. 348 00:20:59,550 --> 00:21:03,804 Then in 2015, fentanyl emerged on the black market 349 00:21:03,804 --> 00:21:08,517 in a big way: potent, cheap, and readily available on the street 350 00:21:08,517 --> 00:21:10,770 without a prescription. 351 00:21:10,770 --> 00:21:15,733 In the US, overdose rates exploded to record highs. 352 00:21:15,733 --> 00:21:17,067 But here in Mexico, 353 00:21:17,067 --> 00:21:20,529 fentanyl became a boon to the underworld economy. 354 00:21:22,239 --> 00:21:27,620 ♪ ♪ 355 00:21:27,620 --> 00:21:29,747 Which is why I've journeyed inland 356 00:21:29,747 --> 00:21:31,624 to witness how the cartels transform 357 00:21:31,624 --> 00:21:36,045 the precursor chemicals into street‐ready drugs. 358 00:21:36,045 --> 00:21:41,175 (man singing in Spanish) 359 00:21:41,175 --> 00:21:43,803 It's happening tonight in an underground lab 360 00:21:43,803 --> 00:21:45,721 where we'll get a glimpse into the future 361 00:21:45,721 --> 00:21:47,515 of the Mexican drug trade. 362 00:22:25,678 --> 00:22:28,305 MARIANA: Unlike heroin, cocaine or marijuana, 363 00:22:28,305 --> 00:22:32,393 fentanyl doesn't need farmland or water or sunshine; 364 00:22:32,393 --> 00:22:35,229 it can all be made in an underworld lab like this, 365 00:22:35,229 --> 00:22:38,148 by a handful of cartel chemists. 366 00:22:42,361 --> 00:22:44,530 MARIANA: So this, he's saying, is the base to create the pills, 367 00:22:44,530 --> 00:22:48,492 the M‐30 pills, the Mexican oxy. 368 00:22:50,995 --> 00:22:54,164 M‐30 pills are imprinted with an M on one side 369 00:22:54,164 --> 00:22:57,543 and the number 30 on the other in an attempt to make them 370 00:22:57,543 --> 00:23:02,256 indistinguishable from legitimate oxycodone pills. 371 00:23:02,256 --> 00:23:04,383 In just the last four years, 372 00:23:04,383 --> 00:23:06,969 millions of these cartel‐manufactured pills 373 00:23:06,969 --> 00:23:10,764 have flooded America's streets. 374 00:23:10,764 --> 00:23:12,641 So you're saying just this little amount here, 375 00:23:12,641 --> 00:23:14,852 if you were to ingest this somehow, 376 00:23:14,852 --> 00:23:16,562 this amount could kill you immediately. 377 00:23:16,562 --> 00:23:19,023 That's how powerful this stuff is. 378 00:23:19,023 --> 00:23:21,108 (speaking Spanish) 379 00:23:21,108 --> 00:23:23,652 Okay, everybody, we should put the masks on. 380 00:23:23,652 --> 00:23:27,948 This is where it starts getting dangerous here. 381 00:23:27,948 --> 00:23:31,076 If these chemists combine the raw materials just right, 382 00:23:31,076 --> 00:23:33,746 in a matter of hours, they'll have successfully completed 383 00:23:33,746 --> 00:23:36,040 the next step in the process, 384 00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:38,959 creating sellable black market fentanyl. 385 00:23:45,049 --> 00:23:47,259 MARIANA: This is the pure fentanyl. 386 00:23:47,259 --> 00:23:50,679 They mixed all the liquids that come from Asia, 387 00:23:50,679 --> 00:23:53,766 a lot of times from China, they mix it and they make this. 388 00:24:26,799 --> 00:24:29,134 MARIANA: Like a veteran chef, the chemist tells me 389 00:24:29,134 --> 00:24:32,930 his mixtures aren't entirely based on careful measurements, 390 00:24:32,930 --> 00:24:35,140 but his own physiological reactions 391 00:24:35,140 --> 00:24:37,059 to the chemical process. 392 00:24:51,448 --> 00:24:52,908 MARIANA: This is so crazy. 393 00:24:52,908 --> 00:24:54,535 Ooh. Look at this stuff. 394 00:25:00,416 --> 00:25:01,667 MARIANA: I'm hoping, really, really hoping 395 00:25:01,667 --> 00:25:03,293 this guy knows what he's doing here. 396 00:25:11,385 --> 00:25:13,178 MARIANA: I'm starting to think my team and I 397 00:25:13,178 --> 00:25:14,888 should get the hell out of here. 398 00:25:14,888 --> 00:25:17,891 Outlaw narco chemists accidentally kill themselves 399 00:25:17,891 --> 00:25:20,019 all the time. 400 00:25:20,019 --> 00:25:21,562 This is so nuts. 401 00:25:49,923 --> 00:25:52,342 MARIANA: I'm in the Sinaloan countryside, 402 00:25:52,342 --> 00:25:54,219 I can't disclose where exactly, 403 00:25:54,219 --> 00:25:57,014 in an underground lab with a cartel chemist 404 00:25:57,014 --> 00:26:00,267 who is perfecting his latest shipment of fentanyl. 405 00:26:10,194 --> 00:26:15,032 MARIANA: Turns out, he's a bit like a Mexican Walter White. 406 00:26:15,032 --> 00:26:17,743 He runs a legitimate business by day, 407 00:26:17,743 --> 00:26:19,578 but for the past four years, 408 00:26:19,578 --> 00:26:22,206 he's been moonlighting for the Sinaloa cartel. 409 00:26:37,346 --> 00:26:38,722 MARIANA: Once the paste dries 410 00:26:38,722 --> 00:26:40,974 and the room clears of deadly fumes, 411 00:26:40,974 --> 00:26:43,519 I'm told it's okay to take off our masks. 412 00:26:51,944 --> 00:26:53,570 MARIANA: Now that the chemical ingredients 413 00:26:53,570 --> 00:26:58,117 are properly balanced, it's time to craft the fake M‐30 pills, 414 00:26:58,117 --> 00:27:01,829 each one designed to mimic the look of OxyContin, 415 00:27:01,829 --> 00:27:04,456 the most popular painkiller in America. 416 00:28:02,097 --> 00:28:04,099 MARIANA: Maybe, but that's not what I've seen 417 00:28:04,099 --> 00:28:06,268 on America's streets. 418 00:28:30,250 --> 00:28:31,793 MARIANA: It's clear that's nothing is going to stop 419 00:28:31,793 --> 00:28:33,795 the process tonight, 420 00:28:33,795 --> 00:28:38,216 and all that's left is to press the paste into pills. 421 00:28:40,010 --> 00:28:42,137 The chemist tells me he makes $100 422 00:28:42,137 --> 00:28:44,306 for every 20,000 pills. 423 00:28:44,306 --> 00:28:46,183 Which means that on any given night, 424 00:28:46,183 --> 00:28:48,060 he can make a few thousand dollars. 425 00:29:13,335 --> 00:29:16,421 MARIANA: A sense of dread follows me north. 426 00:29:16,421 --> 00:29:18,840 Soon, these pills will find their way 427 00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:21,843 into the hands of American users, 428 00:29:21,843 --> 00:29:24,721 and we know what happens then. 429 00:29:24,721 --> 00:29:26,056 (baby crying) 430 00:29:26,056 --> 00:29:27,057 MAN: Oh, my god. 431 00:29:27,057 --> 00:29:29,101 MAN: Hello. Hey! 432 00:29:29,101 --> 00:29:31,728 Andie, Andie, Andie. 433 00:29:31,728 --> 00:29:35,732 MARIANA: But down here among Mexico's narco traffickers, 434 00:29:35,732 --> 00:29:39,778 fentanyl isn't a deadly opioid. 435 00:29:39,778 --> 00:29:41,822 It's an opportunity. 436 00:30:01,925 --> 00:30:04,428 MARIANA: The ugly truth is that fentanyl supports 437 00:30:04,428 --> 00:30:07,723 an incredibly lucrative underworld economy. 438 00:30:07,723 --> 00:30:10,809 That means jobs for cartel accountants, 439 00:30:10,809 --> 00:30:13,228 couriers, and chemists. 440 00:30:13,228 --> 00:30:16,690 And for the those who undertake one of the most dangerous roles 441 00:30:16,690 --> 00:30:20,402 in the pipeline: prepping the drugs for the final crossing 442 00:30:20,402 --> 00:30:22,946 into the United States. 443 00:30:22,946 --> 00:30:26,074 (horns honking) 444 00:30:30,829 --> 00:30:33,248 Just south of the US‐Mexican border, 445 00:30:33,248 --> 00:30:38,045 I've been granted access to film with these so‐called packers. 446 00:30:38,045 --> 00:30:40,922 But we have to move fast; they're scheduled to smuggle 447 00:30:40,922 --> 00:30:44,426 another fentanyl load across tonight. 448 00:30:44,426 --> 00:30:46,762 So they just sent us a location. 449 00:30:46,762 --> 00:30:51,058 It looks like it's about seven miles from the US border. 450 00:30:51,058 --> 00:30:54,811 It definitely looks like we entered the rough part of town. 451 00:30:54,811 --> 00:30:58,356 So let's just be discreet. 452 00:30:58,356 --> 00:31:00,442 We're here. This is it. 453 00:31:00,442 --> 00:31:08,450 ♪ ♪ 454 00:31:33,183 --> 00:31:35,936 MARIANA: Our hosts are tense for good reason. 455 00:31:35,936 --> 00:31:39,523 Right now they're in possession of five kilos of fentanyl 456 00:31:39,523 --> 00:31:42,776 that's worth millions of dollars on the streets of America. 457 00:31:44,736 --> 00:31:46,446 Whoa. 458 00:31:56,164 --> 00:31:58,083 MARIANA: They tell me there are cops and competitors 459 00:31:58,083 --> 00:31:59,918 everywhere in Mexico, 460 00:31:59,918 --> 00:32:03,839 many willing to kill to corner the fentanyl marketplace. 461 00:32:12,764 --> 00:32:15,308 MARIANA: Using ordinary household ingredients, 462 00:32:15,308 --> 00:32:18,186 these packers will make five kilos of fentanyl 463 00:32:18,186 --> 00:32:20,564 invisible to the eyes of the law. 464 00:32:20,564 --> 00:32:22,983 And I'm about to see how it's done. 465 00:32:28,405 --> 00:32:34,661 (siren) 466 00:32:34,661 --> 00:32:37,998 MARIANA: I'm seven miles south of the US‐Mexico border, 467 00:32:37,998 --> 00:32:40,375 about to witness how the Sinaloa cartel 468 00:32:40,375 --> 00:32:44,129 smuggles five kilos of fentanyl into the United States. 469 00:32:47,132 --> 00:32:49,342 Despite the green light I've been given, 470 00:32:49,342 --> 00:32:52,804 the packers prepping the shipment are extremely anxious. 471 00:32:52,804 --> 00:32:55,348 (speaking Spanish) 472 00:32:55,348 --> 00:32:57,225 So he's trying, he's talking, 473 00:32:57,225 --> 00:32:59,561 and I can see this guy's getting really nervous, 474 00:32:59,561 --> 00:33:02,272 and telling him to speed up, because he says the person 475 00:33:02,272 --> 00:33:05,609 that's gonna take it across the border is arriving any moment, 476 00:33:05,609 --> 00:33:07,777 and he wants to make sure that he can get all of this 477 00:33:07,777 --> 00:33:09,821 out of this house as soon as possible. 478 00:33:20,707 --> 00:33:22,876 MARIANA: He's putting coffee on it right now. 479 00:33:29,591 --> 00:33:32,636 MARIANA: I'm watching a shadowy game of cat and mouse. 480 00:33:32,636 --> 00:33:34,971 In less than an hour, these drugs are headed 481 00:33:34,971 --> 00:33:36,848 to the most frequently crossed 482 00:33:36,848 --> 00:33:40,393 and one of most heavily patrolled borders in the world. 483 00:33:43,647 --> 00:33:46,483 Last year, US Customs and Border Protection 484 00:33:46,483 --> 00:33:50,028 seized more than a ton of fentanyl. 485 00:33:50,028 --> 00:33:52,113 And yet, these packers plan on foiling 486 00:33:52,113 --> 00:33:55,033 thousands of highly trained agents 487 00:33:55,033 --> 00:33:57,702 and billions of dollars of surveillance technology 488 00:33:57,702 --> 00:34:00,914 with little more than homemade ingenuity. 489 00:34:00,914 --> 00:34:01,998 He has other products here. 490 00:34:01,998 --> 00:34:04,167 He has mustard. He has... 491 00:34:04,167 --> 00:34:08,880 (speaking Spanish) 492 00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:11,341 MARIANA: Softener. Laundry softener. 493 00:34:11,341 --> 00:34:14,636 And all this is to avoid any sort of smell. 494 00:34:14,636 --> 00:34:17,347 So crazy. 495 00:34:17,347 --> 00:34:20,475 Coffee, fabric softener, and mustard. 496 00:34:20,475 --> 00:34:23,228 There's simply no way to describe the smell. 497 00:34:23,228 --> 00:34:28,316 But the one thing it doesn't smell like is drugs. 498 00:34:28,316 --> 00:34:31,486 Layer after layer, every coat could mean 499 00:34:31,486 --> 00:34:34,739 the difference between failure and profit. 500 00:34:34,739 --> 00:34:36,825 But dogs aren't the only concern. 501 00:34:43,999 --> 00:34:47,752 MARIANA: So now they're able to disguise the smell for the dogs, 502 00:34:47,752 --> 00:34:49,754 and also for the x‐ray machines 503 00:34:49,754 --> 00:34:51,756 they have this carbon paper around it. 504 00:34:57,596 --> 00:35:00,015 MARIANA: The packers tell me they'll make $2,000 505 00:35:00,015 --> 00:35:05,103 for their work tonight, $400 per package. 506 00:35:05,103 --> 00:35:07,897 And just like everyone I've met on this journey, 507 00:35:07,897 --> 00:35:10,358 they do their job and then they pass the drugs on 508 00:35:10,358 --> 00:35:13,028 to the next link in the supply chain. 509 00:35:16,531 --> 00:35:20,702 MARIANA: The girl he's referring to is tonight's driver. 510 00:35:20,702 --> 00:35:23,163 In the trafficking world, she's called a drug mule, 511 00:35:23,163 --> 00:35:25,165 but I'll call her Beatriz. 512 00:35:46,728 --> 00:35:49,898 MARIANA: Beatriz tells me she's been doing this for a year 513 00:35:49,898 --> 00:35:52,651 and makes $3,000 per crossing. 514 00:36:46,538 --> 00:36:48,498 MARIANA: After we finished speaking, 515 00:36:48,498 --> 00:36:51,751 Beatriz agrees to let me follow her to the border. 516 00:36:51,751 --> 00:36:55,463 The car parked in front, that's where all the drugs are stashed, 517 00:36:55,463 --> 00:37:00,427 all ready to go up to the US. 518 00:37:00,427 --> 00:37:02,262 And I think she's about to leave. 519 00:37:07,892 --> 00:37:10,603 Fentanyl trafficking convictions in the US have increased 520 00:37:10,603 --> 00:37:14,983 by nearly 5,000% over the past six years, 521 00:37:14,983 --> 00:37:16,234 and those who are caught 522 00:37:16,234 --> 00:37:19,946 are almost always sentenced to prison. 523 00:37:19,946 --> 00:37:25,160 Right now, Beatriz has five kilos of it hidden in her trunk. 524 00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:27,036 Where the heck is she going? 525 00:37:27,036 --> 00:37:30,623 Something's wrong. 526 00:37:30,623 --> 00:37:35,587 (siren) 527 00:37:35,587 --> 00:37:37,589 Oh, my god. 528 00:37:37,589 --> 00:37:41,301 She's seriously being followed by police, I'm not even joking. 529 00:37:41,301 --> 00:37:43,303 Right? 530 00:37:43,303 --> 00:37:44,304 Yeah. 531 00:37:44,304 --> 00:37:47,265 Oh, my lord. What do we do? 532 00:37:49,184 --> 00:37:52,270 I don't think we should go too close. 533 00:37:52,270 --> 00:37:54,856 We need to figure out what the plan is now. 534 00:37:57,442 --> 00:38:00,862 We were following her for, I mean, 10 seconds, 535 00:38:00,862 --> 00:38:03,782 and then suddenly we see a police car come out of nowhere. 536 00:38:07,952 --> 00:38:10,246 What the (bleep)? Why? What happened? 537 00:38:21,174 --> 00:38:23,718 MARIANA: Just two miles south of the US‐Mexico border, 538 00:38:23,718 --> 00:38:28,056 the drug mule I've been tracking is pulled over by police. 539 00:38:28,056 --> 00:38:31,226 Her trunk is filled with five kilos of fentanyl, 540 00:38:31,226 --> 00:38:35,188 worth millions of dollars on the street. 541 00:38:35,188 --> 00:38:37,065 And she was stopped by the police over there. 542 00:38:37,065 --> 00:38:41,069 I assume Beatriz is busted. 543 00:38:41,069 --> 00:38:44,280 But the cops never opened her trunk. 544 00:38:44,280 --> 00:38:48,034 And minutes later, she drives off. 545 00:38:48,034 --> 00:38:50,286 I catch up with her further down the road. 546 00:39:06,511 --> 00:39:09,681 MARIANA: Beatriz is shaken, so she decides to stay the night. 547 00:39:13,560 --> 00:39:18,773 But the following day, she's at it again. 548 00:39:18,773 --> 00:39:20,984 And I'm not far behind. 549 00:39:26,281 --> 00:39:29,868 She has to be super nervous, you know? 550 00:39:29,868 --> 00:39:35,456 She's packing five kilos of fentanyl. 551 00:39:35,456 --> 00:39:37,625 So it's a very strange feeling, because on the one hand, 552 00:39:37,625 --> 00:39:40,503 we've met her and we don't want her to get caught, 553 00:39:40,503 --> 00:39:42,463 and I'm actually nervous for her. 554 00:39:42,463 --> 00:39:45,133 But on the other hand, she has a car packed with drugs 555 00:39:45,133 --> 00:39:49,137 that can kill a lot of people in the US. 556 00:39:49,137 --> 00:39:50,597 It's complicated. 557 00:39:50,597 --> 00:39:54,392 I know Beatriz has a growing family to provide for. 558 00:39:54,392 --> 00:39:57,729 But in all my years reporting on the opioid crisis, 559 00:39:57,729 --> 00:40:01,399 it's the parents who lost sons and daughters to overdoses 560 00:40:01,399 --> 00:40:03,526 that I remember the most. 561 00:40:03,526 --> 00:40:04,903 GIRL: Mom, wake up. 562 00:40:04,903 --> 00:40:08,281 Come on. Ma, Ma, Ma! 563 00:40:08,281 --> 00:40:10,950 MARIANA: And I can't help but wonder what they might think 564 00:40:10,950 --> 00:40:13,828 as I watch Beatriz attempt to carry a deadly shipment 565 00:40:13,828 --> 00:40:16,748 across the border. 566 00:40:16,748 --> 00:40:19,584 But this is how a majority of drugs are smuggled into the US 567 00:40:19,584 --> 00:40:21,544 according to the DEA. 568 00:40:21,544 --> 00:40:24,422 Through legal ports of entry on the southwest border, 569 00:40:24,422 --> 00:40:28,718 stashed in passenger vehicles or tractor trailers. 570 00:40:28,718 --> 00:40:31,971 And I'm here to witness it for myself. 571 00:40:31,971 --> 00:40:35,350 She was stopped, she's being checked right now. 572 00:40:35,350 --> 00:40:37,143 I would say just put the cameras entirely down. 573 00:40:41,356 --> 00:40:44,776 Last night, I watched the cartel packers slather her cargo 574 00:40:44,776 --> 00:40:47,695 in coffee, mustard, and fabric softener, 575 00:40:47,695 --> 00:40:51,574 all to avoid detection by America's drug‐sniffing dogs. 576 00:40:51,574 --> 00:40:53,284 As the K‐9 units approach, 577 00:40:53,284 --> 00:40:56,788 I'm about to see if their method actually works. 578 00:40:56,788 --> 00:40:59,457 So they're opening the trunk right now. 579 00:40:59,457 --> 00:41:03,002 They're looking under the hood. 580 00:41:03,002 --> 00:41:06,089 This is a really uncomfortable moment. 581 00:41:08,132 --> 00:41:09,509 (exhales) 582 00:41:09,509 --> 00:41:13,596 And then, just when I'm certain she's busted... 583 00:41:13,596 --> 00:41:15,682 Oh, my god. 584 00:41:15,682 --> 00:41:18,226 They're letting her go. 585 00:41:18,226 --> 00:41:22,480 Yeah, she's just going into her car and leaving. 586 00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:24,023 I can't believe it. 587 00:41:24,023 --> 00:41:26,484 They just let her go. I can't believe it. 588 00:41:26,484 --> 00:41:32,949 ♪ ♪ 589 00:41:32,949 --> 00:41:35,952 (exhales) 590 00:41:35,952 --> 00:41:37,578 Beatriz agrees to meet up with us 591 00:41:37,578 --> 00:41:40,581 a few miles north of the border. 592 00:41:40,581 --> 00:41:41,749 I'm just gonna talk to her real quick. 593 00:41:41,749 --> 00:41:44,752 She's right here. 594 00:41:44,752 --> 00:41:46,713 (speaking Spanish) 595 00:41:46,713 --> 00:41:47,422 I cannot believe... 596 00:41:59,976 --> 00:42:01,436 MARIANA: Despite how nerve‐racking 597 00:42:01,436 --> 00:42:03,187 crossing the border was, 598 00:42:03,187 --> 00:42:07,191 Beatriz tells me she doesn't think she'll ever go to prison. 599 00:42:31,924 --> 00:42:35,470 MARIANA: While there's no way for me to confirm this, 600 00:42:35,470 --> 00:42:39,432 it's well‐documented that part of the Sinaloa cartel's strategy 601 00:42:39,432 --> 00:42:42,685 is to infiltrate and corrupt America's border agents 602 00:42:42,685 --> 00:42:44,771 with lucrative payoffs. 603 00:42:55,740 --> 00:42:58,618 MARIANA: And there she goes with five kilos of fentanyl. 604 00:43:01,788 --> 00:43:05,458 When I contacted CBP for comment, they told us, quote, 605 00:43:05,458 --> 00:43:07,376 "US Customs and Border Protection 606 00:43:07,376 --> 00:43:13,049 seized over 750,000 pounds of illegal narcotics in 2019. 607 00:43:13,049 --> 00:43:15,051 Our officers remain relentless 608 00:43:15,051 --> 00:43:19,722 and are always working to stay one step ahead of the cartels." 609 00:43:19,722 --> 00:43:21,974 But with so much demand for drugs 610 00:43:21,974 --> 00:43:27,480 and so much money to be made, it's a difficult task. 611 00:43:27,480 --> 00:43:31,567 In recent years, there have been almost 200 drug overdose deaths 612 00:43:31,567 --> 00:43:35,363 in the US every single day. 613 00:43:35,363 --> 00:43:38,032 And fentanyl is the major reason. 614 00:43:38,032 --> 00:43:40,827 I'm eager to follow this road to the end 615 00:43:40,827 --> 00:43:45,915 to expose just how easy it is for these traffickers, 616 00:43:45,915 --> 00:43:48,543 but I'm also aware the shipment I'm tracking 617 00:43:48,543 --> 00:43:50,461 might end up killing someone. 618 00:43:53,965 --> 00:43:56,425 So we were just given this location 619 00:43:56,425 --> 00:44:00,054 right next to the 710 Freeway here in Los Angeles. 620 00:44:00,054 --> 00:44:03,099 It's at the end of a dead‐end street. 621 00:44:05,560 --> 00:44:10,481 And I think that's, I think that's actually our woman, 622 00:44:10,481 --> 00:44:13,568 with the drugs inside her car. 623 00:44:13,568 --> 00:44:16,988 There's a guy in an orange jumpsuit with a mask. 624 00:44:16,988 --> 00:44:23,703 ♪ ♪ 625 00:44:23,703 --> 00:44:26,622 So it looks like that's where they're doing the deal, 626 00:44:26,622 --> 00:44:28,332 right here out in the open. 627 00:44:32,128 --> 00:44:35,798 The masked men tell me they're all native Angelenos, 628 00:44:35,798 --> 00:44:40,595 American citizens who work directly for the Sinaloa cartel. 629 00:44:40,595 --> 00:44:42,597 But like everyone else I've met, 630 00:44:42,597 --> 00:44:47,185 they focus on their jobs and ask no questions. 631 00:44:47,185 --> 00:44:49,520 Do you know what's in these packages? 632 00:44:49,520 --> 00:44:51,105 You really don't care what you're transporting? 633 00:44:55,234 --> 00:44:57,069 MARIANA: So can you tell me more or less where they're heading? 634 00:44:59,447 --> 00:45:00,948 MAN: This is one of the main distribution areas 635 00:45:00,948 --> 00:45:02,325 that we have here. 636 00:45:11,250 --> 00:45:12,710 MARIANA: This is very much like a hot potato 637 00:45:12,710 --> 00:45:15,296 where they just want to get it out as soon as possible. 638 00:45:15,296 --> 00:45:17,423 It was incredible, because you saw she arrived, 639 00:45:17,423 --> 00:45:19,550 and within, I don't know, under 10 minutes, 640 00:45:19,550 --> 00:45:21,636 they had managed to take the drugs out of her car, 641 00:45:21,636 --> 00:45:25,348 put it in their car, and then they're off. 642 00:45:25,348 --> 00:45:26,891 And he says he does this every other week, 643 00:45:26,891 --> 00:45:28,517 which is crazy. 644 00:45:31,103 --> 00:45:34,106 (siren) 645 00:45:34,106 --> 00:45:35,608 OFFICER: There you go. OFFICER: You got it? 646 00:45:35,608 --> 00:45:39,278 WOMAN: Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. 647 00:45:39,278 --> 00:45:40,363 WOMAN: Got three Narcan deployments. 648 00:45:40,363 --> 00:45:42,281 (siren) 649 00:45:42,281 --> 00:45:44,367 MARIANA: Never have so many people been addicted 650 00:45:44,367 --> 00:45:47,912 to such a deadly narcotic. 651 00:45:47,912 --> 00:45:52,750 Never has the need for solutions been more urgent. 652 00:45:52,750 --> 00:45:58,047 I worry that the fentanyl supply chain seems too big to fail. 653 00:45:58,047 --> 00:46:00,258 Too many people benefit, 654 00:46:00,258 --> 00:46:03,469 and I've met many of them along my journey, 655 00:46:03,469 --> 00:46:08,641 from the chemical companies in Asia to the cartels' chemists. 656 00:46:08,641 --> 00:46:13,062 Americans will have to find a way to slow the demand, 657 00:46:13,062 --> 00:46:15,648 because the suppliers will always find 658 00:46:15,648 --> 00:46:21,028 a faster and more profitable way to deliver the goods. 659 00:46:33,124 --> 00:46:35,501 MARIANA: In fact, they tell me the cartels have begun 660 00:46:35,501 --> 00:46:39,672 to do just that by eliminating their Asian suppliers. 661 00:46:47,513 --> 00:46:50,266 MARIANA: If that's true, the worst may be yet to come 662 00:46:50,266 --> 00:46:52,393 for America's opioid epidemic. 663 00:47:05,281 --> 00:47:07,158 Captioned by Side Door Media Services