Traffickers Tied to Sea Die-Off

Scientists said Friday that drug traffickers are among the suspects in the mysterious deaths of dolphins and whales off Mexico’s west coast.

Forty-two dolphins were found dead on beaches near Culiacan on Mexico’s northern Pacific coast Friday after the discovery of at least three dead whales in the same area in the last week.

Schools of dead sardines in the Gulf of California have also been reported.

Scientists say they are looking into a cyanide-based chemical used by drug traffickers to mark ocean drop-off sites as one of the possible causes of the die-off, the largest reported in at least a year.

The phosphorescent chemical, known as Natural Killer-19, or NK-19, is used to guide low-flying aircraft to areas in the ocean where bales of drugs have been dumped from passing ships.