Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., an American precision healthcare equipment company, was held liable by the buyer of its plant in Reynosa, Mexico due to non-disclosure that the Gulf Cartel, a criminal syndicate and drug trafficking group in Mexico, had it under siege.
A complaint against Thermo Fisher was filed in the U.S. District Court, Central District of Los Angeles, California by OpenGate Capital Group LLC, an international private investment and acquisition firm, due to false misrepresentation and obscuring information. The buyer stated that they were not informed that a drug syndicate was operating within the facility.
OpenGate Capital stated in the complaint, “The Reynosa facility was under siege and the subject of repeated, near-daily security breaches by members of the Gulf Cartel, an intimidating and violent criminal syndicate and drug trafficking organization.”
Opengate’s so-called criminals were seen showing off their weapons at employees and parked their cars and "tractor-trailers filled with unknown cargo" at the facility. Based on the investigation of OpenGate, the facility has been penetrated by the Gulf Cartel since 2011 putting into danger more than 1,000 employees. The cartel is watching the facility 24 hours a day with armed militants entering the facility’s cafeteria. The company did not mention in the lawsuit if there were damages done.
In addition, Thermo Fisher rushed the negotiations and gave false answers to outstanding business questions which led them to buying the facility. They also admitted that that they closed the deal without a condition that will protect them from post-closing findings.
The company bought the Reynosa plant called Laboratory Workstations from Thermo Fisher in October 2012 where they paid $3 million cash and a $10 note.
The Gulf Cartel is a syndicate that became famous for their illegal activities such as kidnapping, smuggling, protection racketeering and drug trafficking since the 1990s after recruiting selected members that worked as the syndicate’s enforcement arm called Zetas. According to authorities, this group is also using extortion to several businesses in order to accumulate funds for their group.
Thermo Fisher had not given any comment about the lawsuit.
