Belgian pharma bosses accused of supplying Mexican drug lord

Mexican drug lord Ezio Benjamin Figueroa-Vasquez alledgedly convinced seven Belgian pharmaceutical manufacturers to sell him large quantities of drugs, write various Belgian media. The heads of the big pharma companies are suspected of knowingly providing medicine to Figueroa-Vasquez, one of the largest drug barons in Mexico. He used the drugs to produce large amounts of crystal meth, most of which ended up on the American drug market in exchange for hundreds of millions of euros.

Figueroa-Vasquez was at the top of the US Drug Enforcement Administration's most-wanted list in the fight against methamphetamine drug traffickers, until he was arrested by Mexican authorities.

Crystal meth is a dangerous methamphetamine whose main ingredient is ephedrine. But the import of ephedrine is prohibited in Mexico, where most of the crystal meth is produced, so the drug baron looked to pharmaceutical companies abroad for his supply.

Belgian suppliers are suspected of providing Figueroa-Vasquez with at least four tons of ephedrine, accounting for a turnover of €360 million, until customs and police caught wind of the transactions.

The pharmaceutical companies plead not guilty, claiming they acted in good faith in the supply of ephedrine-containing products. "We had the necessary permits to make, sell and export those products. We were not aware of their final destination," says Sterop, one of the accused companies, which saw one of its larger drug deliveries seized and confiscated at Brussels Airport.

The public prosecutor argues that e-mail exchanges and tapped telephone conversations show that the Belgian pharmaceutical companies acted deliberately, and has therefore referred them to court, where a ruling will be made on 5 April.