Mexican Navy Announces Seizure of 8.3 Tons of Drugs in the Pacific

The Mexican Navy announced on Friday that it had seized 8.3 tons of drugs off the country's west coast, a record for operations at sea.

The value of the seized merchandise was around 2.1 billion pesos (134.5 million euros), the Navy said in a statement, without specifying the type of drugs.

"This represents the largest amount of drugs seized during a maritime operation, unprecedented in the history of the institution," it noted.

The seizure was made southwest of the city of Lazaro Cardenas, in the state of Michoacan, on Mexico's west coast.

During the operation, the Navy seized six vessels and detained 23 people.

The largest drug seizure in Mexico's history, 23 tons of Colombian cocaine, occurred in November 2007.

For decades, Mexico has been the center of drug trafficking to North America. The state of Michoacan, off the coast where the seizure took place, is the scene of constant warfare between criminal groups, including the Jalisco Nueva Generacion cartel.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office on October 1, has unveiled a "national security plan" to curb violence in the country, focusing on the most dangerous states in the north and on the Pacific coast.