Mexico dismantles three synthetic drug laboratories in Sinaloa

An army and police forces combined on patrol in the state of Sinaloa, northern Mexico, dismantled three laboratories producing methamphetamine, a synthetic drug.

The officials estimated that the laboratories could produce 17 million doses of methamphetamine.

They said their discovery was the biggest blow to methamphetamine trafficking so far this year.

Crystal meth is a powerful form of amphetamine and can be smoked, snorted or injected by users.

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This discovery brings to 20 the number of drug labs detected in the state of Sinaloa this year.

Illegal substances are smuggled into the United States, the largest drug user in the world.

According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), most of the methamphetamine available in the United States is smuggled in Mexico.

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Sinaloa's Minister of Security, Cristóbal Castañeda Camarillo, said the discovery was made by officers patrolling on foot in the rural area.

But a growing number of drug laboratories have been located by drones equipped with heat detectors, officials said.

The state of Sinaloa, northwestern Mexico, has long been dominated by the criminal cartel of the same name.

Its former leader, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, has been sentenced by a US court for drug trafficking and should be sentenced at the end of the month.

Despite the arrest of "El Chapo" in 2016, his Sinaloa cartel would have the biggest impact on drug trafficking in the United States, according to the DEA.

In addition to producing methamphetamine, it smuggles marijuana, cocaine, heroin and fentanyl into the United States and has well-established distribution centers in Phoenix, Los Angeles, Denver and Chicago.