50 Kilos of Fentanyl Chemicals Seized in Anchorage, Alaska: U.S. Extradition File Says ‘Don Flaco’ Routed Them From China to Mexico City, Reforma Reports
U.S. agents seized two 25-kilo shipments of a fentanyl precursor chemical at Anchorage, Alaska, in 2020. According to the U.S. extradition request, the seizures followed wiretaps on José Ángel Rivera Zazueta, “Don Flaco,” the alleged Sinaloa Cartel operator arrested in Mexico City on Sept. 22. Reforma reported the details on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, from the extradition request. The request says the chemicals moved from China to Mexico City through Alaska.
The China–Alaska–Mexico City route
Reforma reports that Taiwan’s Coast Guard and the DEA tapped Rivera Zazueta’s phones and tracked his operations. The U.S. investigation found that from at least 2019 until March 15, 2022, he trafficked 4-AP, a fentanyl precursor, from China and Taiwan. The chemical allegedly flew on Cargolux or Cathay Pacific cargo flights that stopped in Anchorage.
According to the request, CBP and the DEA’s Alaska office seized 25 kilos of 4-AP in Anchorage on Aug. 5, 2020, and another 25 kilos on Nov. 20, 2020. Both batches had been bought in Hong Kong. Taiwan’s Coast Guard also intercepted calls between two alleged accomplices, identified only as CC-3 and CC-4. In those calls, they said the August batch was headed from Hong Kong to Mexico City. The DEA’s Diversion Control Division estimates that 100 kilos of 4-AP can make about 190 kilos of fentanyl, Reforma reported.
‘Coordinator and financier’
The request calls Rivera Zazueta a Mexico-based leader of the organization, a “coordinator and financier” of precursor shipments for members working on his behalf, Reforma reported. He is being held in Mexico City’s Reclusorio Oriente. Reforma says he was born on Aug. 15, 1987, in Culiacán, Sinaloa, and that the DEA lists an alternate birth date of Dec. 15, 1987.
Reforma also reports a March 2025 Treasury sanction over financial support for terrorism. Our earlier coverage cited Treasury actions in January 2023 and on Sept. 29, 2026, the latter tied to the Los Mayos faction.
Where the case stands
His lawyers have filed amparo lawsuits to block extradition, Proceso reported Oct. 5. These are allegations: he has not been convicted, and no handover date has been announced.
N+ report on the Sept. 22 arrest:
Sources
- Reforma (Abel Barajas), “Exhibe EU fentanilo que AMLO negaba,” Oct. 12, 2026, as republished by Vanguardia and El Diario de Chihuahua
- Proceso, “Sobornos, favores políticos y narcotráfico: la red que EU vincula a ‘El Flaco’,” Oct. 5, 2026
- Video: N+ on YouTube
- Photos: Reforma, via Vanguardia; FGR booking photo shared by Omar García Harfuch on X, via Proceso
Reported Oct. 12, 2026, from Reforma’s review of the U.S. extradition request. The Narco Blog has not seen the document. Its contents are U.S. allegations, not findings of a court.