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    Knights Templar Cartel Smuggling Iron Ore to China

    Written by Sandy Williams


    Iron ore smuggling has become a concern of the Mexican government with the diversification of the Knights Templar drug cartel into mining operations in the western state of Michoacán.

    Mexican authorities have seized nearly 200,000 tons of illegally mined and shipped iron ore headed for China so far this year. Last week a ship was seized carrying 68,750 tonnes ore of belonging to the Cartel. In March, government agents and military personnel seized 119,000 tonnes ore, along with heavy equipment, trucks, backhoes, conveyors, crushers, and generators. The ore was being stored in storage yards in the Port of Lazaro Cardenas and yards along the border of the state of Guerreo.

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