Drug cartels based in Mexico are accused of fuelling the fentanyl overdose crisis in the US. Now the names of notorious cartels are starting to crop up in South Africa cases. Evidence suggests that two notorious Mexican cartels - Sinaloa and Jalisco - are among the international drug trafficking gangs active in SA.

A flat rectangular package weighing 72kg was intercepted at Mexico's Benito Juárez International Airport at the end of September. According to a statement the airport released at the time, the package contained methamphetamine and it was destined for Johannesburg.

In January, the South African Revenue Service announced that sculpted artworks - ornaments - discovered in a cargo shed at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg were found to contain crystal methamphetamine (tik) and fentanyl worth R37-million.

And about two years ago, US customs and border officials in Louisville, Kentucky, intercepted a package ostensibly containing water purification substances sent there from South Africa. However, it turned out to contain cocaine and a dose of fentanyl with the potential to kill 220,000 people.

These incidents, together with a raid on a farm in Limpopo in July, add to the evidence suggesting that two notorious Mexican cartels - Sinaloa and Jalisco - are among the international drug trafficking gangs active in South Africa.

These cartels are involved in an array of crime, including cocaine trafficking, and the production of synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine and fentanyl. The latter is a massive problem in the US.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration...