How Mexican cartels infiltrated Britain as Breaking Bad-style meth ‘cooks’ flood UK – to fuel dangerous ‘chemsex’ trend

MEXICAN cartels are trying to flood Britain with meth as Breaking Bad style cooks infiltrate the UK. Experts fear meth labs are on the increase as some of the world’s most violent gangs try to infiltrate the European market – and they have Britain in their sights. Five Mexicans were caught allegedly running a Breaking Bad-style crystal meth lab from a remote farm in the West Midlands, a court heard Credit: Central News In July, a woman from Bradford who enlisted her own children into a sophisticated £5million cocaine smuggling operation involving flights from Mexico was jailed Credit: Unpixs Their warning comes after five Mexicans appeared in court last week accused of conspiracy to produce meth after police arrests. It’s alleged they were part of a crime group making the drug at a meth lab on a remote farmland near Furnace End in Warwickshire. They all denied involvement. Meth use in the UK has gone up by 61 per cent between 2021 and 2025, according to the amount detected in the country’s waterways. The rise coincides with the Taliban’s crackdown on heroin production. Farzana Kauser, 54, headed up a Bradford-based gang, five of which were her own children, in an elaborate method to smuggle high-purity cocaine through Birmingham Airport Credit: Unpixs Large amounts of cocaine were smuggled through Manchester Airport in an earlier drug plot involving flights from Cancun, Mexico, in 2024 Credit: NCA University of Warwick Professor, Ben Smith, who authored The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade, told The Sun: “It’s possible that Mexican gangs are trying this out, to see if there’s a growing market for meth. “I don’t think it’s particularly difficult for them to get the drugs in and making meth is pretty easy. “You are not allowed to bring in some of the chemicals that are used but I suspect it’s not that difficult to get a couple of barrels of this stuff through customs, particularly if you’re trying to do a trial batch. “I don’t think it’s a problem for the gangs. “Drugs are extremely vulnerable to changes in pricing mechanisms and my guess is that, as cocaine has been the Friday night party drug of choice, it’s now going up in price and the gangs are thinking meth could fill that gap.” Members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) cartel – one of several menacing and hugely powerful Mexican gangs – pictured in 2021 Credit: Reuters The cartels have mastered industrial level meth production Credit: National Geographic Mexican kingpins are exploiting the gap left after the Taliban came down hard on heroin and opium production in July 2000, before it regained power the following year. A report by the United Nations in June revealed that global meth trafficking is up by 13 per cent and new routes through Africa have opened up markets. Meth workshops have been found all over the continent with cops in Prague, Slovakia and the Netherlands fighting a constant battle. The drug, which costs between £50 and £80 a gram on the streets, is traditionally used in chemsex – taking a substance to enhance intercourse – but experts say it could soon turn out to be more popular on the party scene. Frontline drugs worker Tony D’Agonstino said: “There seems to be growing evidence of Mexican organised crime being involved in Europe’s methamphetamine trade. “Crystal meth can come into the UK as a finished drug through international trafficking routes, but there is also concern about production taking place here using overseas expertise. “Meth is still a much smaller market than cocaine in the UK, but there are signs it is growing. “Historically, its use in the UK has been particularly associated with some chemsex networks, especially in larger cities. “London stands out, and evidence also points to an established market in Greater Manchester and other urban areas. “There have also been reports in Greater Manchester of ‘straight’ people smoking crystal meth at Chemsex parties, including women who use it as an after-party – after they leave a club.” Analysis of Britain’s water showed a rise in the amount of meth detected, from 149 milligrams per 1,000 people per day in 2021 to 240mg last year. Liverpool-based Albanian national Elton Hallaci was involved in the Manchester Airport drug plot Credit: NCA Liverpool-based Albanian national Artur Iseberi, 27, was jailed Credit: NCA Dale Hosker was involved in a multi-million pound smuggling operation in 2024 Credit: NCA Dale Creen was convicted by a jury of possession of cocaine but acquitted of smuggling, was jailed for 11 years in 2024 Credit: NCA Mexican gangs already have a stronghold on the UK’s cocaine market.In June 2024, the National Crime Agency – Britain’s version of the FBI – busted a plot to smuggle coke through Manchester airport. The multi-million pound smuggling operation saw American couriers fly into the airport without luggage, pick up suitcases packed with cocaine and pass them on to UK dealers. Eight suitcases arrived on flights from Cancun and Barbados and were collected by Americans. Five containing 100kg of the drug were passed to Liverpool-based Albanian nationals Elton Hallaci, 32, and Artur Iseberi, 27. Another two were picked up by a woman who gave them to criminals Dale Hosker, 49, of Bury and Dale Creen, 34, of Salford. An axe, knife and machete were found in the latter’s bedroom. Hallaci was later jailed 21 years, Iseberi to 18 years and Hosker to 11 years after pleading guilty to smuggling cocaine and possession of cocaine with intent to supply. Creen, convicted by a jury of possession of cocaine but acquitted of smuggling, was given 11 years. Bradford care worker Farzana Kauser, 54, was last year jailed for 13 years and four months after recruiting her four sons, daughter and daughter-in-law to smuggle high-quality coke into Britain from Mexico. Her youngest son was only 17 when Kauser persuaded him to take part in the plot, which was busted when the gang were caught at Birmingham airport with cocaine with a street value of £14.4million. Jennifer Scotland, organised crime and policing research analyst for defence think tank, the Royal Services Institute, said Mexican cartels tend to work with local and regional crime networks, including Albanian and Italian gangs. She said: “Mexican ‘cooks’ have also supported drug production on the continent, with cocaine-processing and methamphetamine labs increasingly detected in Europe in recent years.”